Family- What I never knew I was missing
by Imagination.To.Paper
Summary: What if Stef wasn't the only one shot? What if the twins were struggling to still feel like part of the family? What if Brandon got tired of always being a 'good kid? This is my take on the beginning of the show about feeling wanted, loved, and scared in the big, bad world. Please R and R.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! This is my first fanfic, so be nice! I would appreciate reviews and suggestions! Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Fosters or any of the characters**

The beginning is slightly different than the actual show:

~NOT BRALLIE so sorry if that is what you were looking for.

~Jude is not yet in the story

~Callie is very timid and scared- unlike her character in the show. She was the one who found Ana for Mariana and Jesus.

~Mariana had been giving money to Ana and Jesus found out.

~Brandon is tired of being the 'good kid'

~Jesus and Lexi are still trying to hide their relationship.

* * *

Brandon's fingers forcefully hit the keys of the keyboard in front of him as the muffled sounds of his girlfriend echoed behind him.

"Brandon! Look at me!" Talia angrily said to her boyfriend Brandon who was busy playing the piano. "Hey!" she said pulling his face to hers in order to look at him directly.

"I have to practice, Tal!" he said as he turned back to the piano.

"You have to give yourself a break. Come on. Come with me." Talia took Brandon's hand and lead him to the couch.

"Talia! I need to practice just a little before we hang." Brandon pleaded as he got back up to sit at the piano bench.

"I miss my boyfriend!" Talia wined as she walked slowly back to Brandon. "Seriously Brandon. I am taking you to my sister's friend's party tonight and you will come." She said matter-of-factly as she pushed Brandon away from the piano and sat on his lap.

"I have to practice tonight or I won't be able to continue with professor Wallace." Brandon said still looking down at the keys.

Talia lifted his head up to hers "You need to give yourself a break. Starting now." She finished by pulling his face into her hands and kissing him. Brandon stopped looking at the piano and placed his hands behind her head and returned the kiss.

* * *

Callie sighed as she scrolled through the computer she and Mariana shared. She shook her head as she read the information on the page. She knew doing this for Mariana was most likely gonna get her into trouble, but she finally felt like she was liked in a foster house, and didn't want to screw up anything; no one had hit her- things at the Fosters were better than she had at any other foster house.

Stef could hear soft murmuring coming from her daughter and foster daughter's room. She stopped by the doorway enterance and shifted the basket of laundry onto her hip so she could lean against the frame and smiled at her foster daughter. She knew how hard it was for Callie to open up and relax, so it was a step in the positive direction when she saw her on the computer, acting like any of her other 3 teens.

Callie was quietly talking to herself before Stef walked in _No. Why? This makes no sense._

Stef gently leaned against the doorframe and spoke softly as to not startle her foster daughter "'Hey Callie"

Callie's head snapped up as she wiped tears from her eyes. "Uhh hi" she stammered.

"Whatcha doin, love?" Stef wondered, trying to get a look at what Callie was looking at on the computer.

"Uhhh just some homework" Callie shrugged the question off and quickly exited out of the Internet. "I have to go to the bathroom" she quickly got up and left the room without making eye contact with her foster mother.

Stef started to take the clothes out of the basket to put on Mariana's bed but stopped when she saw the computer. She put the basket down and opened up the Internet to see what Callie had been looking at. _Oh sweetie. _

* * *

Mariana shut the door behind her as she ran into her twin brother's room. Anger and hurt filled her eyes as she stared at him. She muttered, "I hate you."

"Mariana! What is wrong with you? Are you actually stupid?" Jesus bellowed as he stared as his twin in disbelief. "I thought you learned your lesson last time when Ana just took your money and left. She's using you!"

"Jesus! She is our birth mom and she needs our help!" she responded trying to keep her composure but knowing deep down that her brother had a point. "How can you just turn away form her?"

"Because all she wants is money for drugs." He responded coldly.

Mariana looked down "She can change".

Jesus stared at her not able to accept what she saw saying, "You're acting like an idiot!"

"Screw you, Jesus! I'm going to meet her with or without you. Your choice" Mariana spat as she pulled the door open and stormed out. Jesus sat on his bed; his head in his hands. He knew he couldn't let his sister go to the dangerous part of town without him. Hell, deep down he knew she shouldn't go at all and that he should tell his moms and let them deal with her. But he knew how she felt; he understood her desire to know where she came from. He wanted that too. Desperately. He loved his moms, but he needed to look after his sister.

Jesus sighed and picked up a piece of paper that Mariana left on his desk with an address scribbled on it. He grabbed his backpack and slipped out of his room and down the stairs. Silently looking to make sure that no one would see him. He closed the front door and made his way to the bus stop. _Damn it, Mariana._

**_**This chapter was updated 6/4**_**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here is the next chapter! Thanks for the follows! Y'all are great! Please let me know how you like this story and if there is anything you think I should add! **

**Again, I don't own The Fosters. **

Stef and Lena were busy getting dinner ready. They had one more mouth to feed and that meant they had to start on dinner a little earlier than usual.

"So… what's going on with you kids?" Stef asked, not looking up from the salad she was putting together.

"What?" Lena questioned as she too continued to cook over the stove.

"Well for starters, Mariana and Jesus have either been fighting or locked in their rooms and I literally haven't seen Brandon all day and…"

"Don't get me started with him." Lena stated, immediately wishing she hadn't "I mean…"

"What's that supposta mean?" Stef finally looked up from her cooking and turned towards Lena.

"No I mean I love him like my son. I just… I guess I feel like he doesn't think of me in the same way. Which I know isn't wrong at all, but i… I just wish we had a closer relationship" Lena trailed off turning back to her cooking.

Stef sighed and walked over to the stove and put her arms around Lena's middle giving her a loving squeeze. "Honey. I understand how you're feeling"

"No you don't" she said softly

"What?"

"Brandon is your son and the twins knew you from the office before I even knew about them. And I feel like Callie is slowly opening up to you and"

"Lena, love! First off, Callie isn't talking to anyone. And…"

"I just don't understand" Lena sadly said as she walked over to the table. She sat down and put her head in her hands. Stef looked lovingly at her and sat next to her; putting her hand on Lena's back.

Stef used her other hand to pull Lena's face up towards her own. As Lena's eyes rose, she noticed Mariana standing timidly at the bottom of the stairs.

"Hi, Mariana" she said wiping the tears that had begun to form

Stef quickly dropped her hands and turned to her daughter, "Babe can you give us a sec? We'll call you when dinner is ready"

Mariana began to tear up and stayed put barely getting out the words "I need to talk to you"

Stef clearly hadn't taken notice of the tears and sighed as she asked "Can it wait, Mariana?"

"No."

Upon hearing their daughter's stern yet frightened voice, both mothers focused all of their attention on their daughter.

"OK. We're listening." Lena finally said.

Mariana knew she needed to tell her moms, but she also knew she was bound to get into more trouble than she had ever been in before. After Mariana had slammed Jesus' door, she went to her room and cried. She knew Jesus had a point and she also knew that she was being stupid. Wiping the tears from her eyes, Mariana walked into the bathroom to dry her eyes and fix her makeup. Once she looked presentable enough, she walked back to Jesus' room. She gently knocked on the door, but after hearing nothing, she opened the door and peaked in. Mariana didn't see her brother anywhere. She figured he had gone downstairs to get a snack and was about to close the door when she noticed the piece of paper she had left with the address of Ana's house was missing. _No. _She thought. _He wouldn't do something this stupid. He would not leave. _Mariana frantically looked around for his wallet, house key, or anything that would indicate that he had not left, but she found nothing. Mariana felt numb as she walked slowly out of the room. She made her way downstairs to tell her moms. Who knows what trouble her twin could be in.

"I… I got in touch with my birth mom a while ago. And I've been giving her money. But she's using it to buy drugs so I told her I didn't have any more money" Mariana began to speak faster, tears falling from her eyes. "But she asked me to meet her one more time downtown because she wanted to see me one last time and give me something"

"Mariana! Downtown?" Stef yelled. She knew just as well as the others that downtown was not a safe place for anyone to be alone.

"I'm… I… I'm… sorry" she squeaked out as her body began to shake.

"Well I'm glad you didn't go" Lena said as she walked over to her broken daughter; pulling her into a side hug and rubbing her back.

Stef knew there was something more "Mariana? What else?"

Lena looked down at her as Stef stared at her begging for an answer.

" I think… I think Jesus is there alone right now." A scared sob slipped out of her lips as she fell into her mother's arms.

Lena held her daughter robotically as she looked at Stef; eyes plagued with fear. She had not herself been downtown all that often, but Stef had told her stories when her work led her down there.

Stef couldn't move. She couldn't think. She knew she had to be the one to take charge. Her baby could be in serious trouble and she couldn't seem to do anything. Tears began to form as she sat there frozen in fear.


	3. Chapter 3

**So sorry for the delay! Finals week is approaching! Thank you so much for the reviews! As always, please enjoy and send me a review! And, as always, I don't own The Fosters. **

A determined look was plastered on Stef's face. She knew that she needed to step up. She couldn't fall apart like she wanted to. She needed to be strong; for her son and for the rest of her family. Stef ran to her bedroom, punched in the code on the safe, and grabbed her gun and extra bullets. She placed her gun securely into her jeans and shut the safe door. Lena followed not far behind not knowing what to say until she saw Stef take out the gun.

"What are you doing?" she wondered trying herself to keep it together for Mariana's sake.

"Going to get our son" Stef said plainly as she continued to move around the room, gathering her jacket, cellphone, and shoes.

"Shouldn't we wait for the police to get here?" Lena asked hesitantly. She knew Stef was not going to just do nothing, but she also knew that Stef wasn't thinking right; she needed a voice of reason.

"Who do you think I am?" she spat as she walked out of the bedroom. "Mariana! I need the address of the house!"

Mariana was busy talking with Callie and didn't hear her mom calling her. "How could you?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't know." Callie said, hanging her head.

"You think you can just waltz into our lives and fix everything. Well my brother is down there all alone because you had the brilliant idea to meet her after you knew what she was doing with the money. You don't know anything about my mother."

"I was just trying to help." Callie timidly said. She wanted to yell at her sister. No one was forcing her to go! She was only trying to make Mariana happy. But before she could explain any more Mariana stared into her eyes and spat "Just because your family is screwed up doesn't mean every family is too." That was enough for tears to pool around Callie's eyes. She quickly wiped them and turned around, almost running into Lena who had come downstairs to look for Mariana.

"What happened?" Lena questioned as Callie turned around. She reached out to Callie who jerked away and hurried off into the kitchen. Lena, deeply confused, turned to her other daughter and questioned once again "What happened?".

Just as Mariana opened her mouth, Stef came running down the stairs, her hands in the middle of putting her blonde wavy hair into a ponytail. "Mariana! Address! Now!"

"Fine. Go." Lena said as the young girl walked into the living room with her mom to provide her with the address.

After Mariana told Callie how she truly felt, Callie could not be more upset with herself. She knew that she was right; that her family was screwed up. Callie knew she had to do something to prove to Mariana that she really did care and wasn't there to screw up her family. Callie opened the door that lead to the garage and slipped out, closing the door silently behind her. She saw Stef's car parked in the garage, took a deep breath and opened the back door. She crawled in and pulled the door closed behind her; curling up into the smallest ball possible behind the driver's seat. _I can fix this_. Callie thought to herself. _ I've gotta fix this._

Callie had almost no time to take in another deep breath because Stef opened the garage door and then the driver's side door. Callie put her hand over her mouth as to not be noticed and closed her eyes as Stef immediately started the car and threw it in reverse. Lena ran out of the door as well and worriedly approached the car. Stef rolled down her window. "It's gonna be fine. Please stay with the kids. I'll call you when I'm coming home." Stef said quickly before rolling the window back up. "Bye" Lena whispered as Stef made it out of the driveway and flew down the street.

Lena let out a sigh and went back inside to find her girls and figure out what had happened between the two of them. As she closed the door, she saw Mariana sitting at the kitchen table; hands frantically clicking her phone. She would sit down, then stand up, then pick up her phone, then put it down, and repeat the process. Lena sighed as she saw her daughter in almost a panic attack. "Sweetheart. He's gonna be fine. Mom is on her way to get him." She walked over to her frantic daughter and gently took her phone out of her hands. "Now, can you sit down and talk to me about this whole thing with your birth mother?"

Mariana sat down but refused to look her mother in the eyes. "Love." Lena coaxed as she lifted Mariana's head with a single finger. "Please talk to me."

"I'm sorry" was all she could manage.

"Why didn't you tell me that you wanted to get in contact with her?" Lena questioned. Remembering that her daughter hadn't wanted to see her birth mother only months ago.

"I dono. I guess I didn't want you to think I didn't love you or…"

"Honey! Why would you think that? Look at me. You have the right to want to know about your birth mom and where you came from. I'm just sorry you had to go through it alone."

Mariana couldn't believe what she was hearing. She thought her moms would be upset and hurt if they knew she was trying to find her birth mom. How could she ever want to be with such a horrible person who is her birth mom when she has two amazing moms right here. Mariana felt even guiltier after hearing what Lena said. "I'm sorry" was all she could again get out.

Lena smiled, wiping the tear that escaped from her eye. "I love you, you know that, right?"

Mariana nodded as she put her head on her mother's shoulder. She couldn't remember the last time when she wanted her mom to hold her; and Lena didn't attest. She sat down, reached out, grabbed her daughter and pulled her onto her lap. Mariana buried her head into her mom's hair as she let out "I love you too" followed by a sob.

Lena didn't want to let go of her daughter, but she knew she needed to take charge of the house and after 5 minutes, she lifted Mariana's head up and wiped her cheeks with her thumb and asked "Have you seen Brandon today?

Mariana rubbed her eyes and got off of Lena's lap. "Uhhh he went to Talia's after lunch, but I don't think he is home yet."

"OK. I'm gonna finish dinner." Lena said when she remembered what she walked into earlier she added "Oh, love, what is going on with you and Callie?"

"I dono. I'm gonna call Lexi" she responded quickly and reached over the table to grab her phone from the place her mother had placed it earlier.

As her daughter began to leave the room, Lena yelled out "Uhh ok well tell Callie that dinner is almost ready" She sighed and looked down at the barely started dinner in front of her. She then reached into a drawer and pulled out a pizza menu. _Pizza will suffice tonight. _ She thought. She knew she wouldn't be able to concentrate on cooking with everything going on.

* * *

Stef checked her phone and pulled into a driveway. She turned off her headlights as she neared the house- if you would call that a house. Garbage covered the lawn and the siding of the "house" was rusting in some spots and completely gone in others. She took a deep breath and stepped out of her car, gun in hand. A car suddenly pulled in behind her and she spun around with her gun out. Sighing in relief when she saw that it was only Mike, she put her gun down and walked over to her ex-husband. "Mike?"

"Lena called me. Come on you know you're happy to see me" He replied getting out of the car.

"I'll be happy when we get Jesus out of there." She stated as she turned to walk towards the door. The steps creaked with age as she then Mike quietly walked up them and started towards the door. It was already open slightly, so Stef peaked her head in. As she walked further into the house, she and Mike both saw it at the same time. "Drugs!" she hissed as both her and Mike drew their guns and pointed them out in front of one another as they continued into the house.

"Jesus!" Stef whispered, hoping that her son was the only one in the house. "Jesus" She said slightly louder as the two officers continued into the house.

From her place in the car, Callie pushed open the door and carefully stepped out. Her legs stinging, as they had fallen asleep on the ride over. As she shook out her tingling legs, she crept towards the back of the house.

"Jesus!" Callie heard Stef say and she hurried to get to the side of the home.

Mike and Stef walked into a room, which had three connecting rooms. "Take that room" he stated and nodded towards the room to the left. Stef nodded and slowly walked into the room- gun out in front of her.

Callie continued to walk against the house listening for any sign that Jesus was there. But all she could hear was Mike. She peered through a window but soon wiped around as she heard leaves rustling behind her.

"Hey!" a deep voice whispered at Callie.

Callie froze in fear when she saw something glisten against the dull light of the streetlamp positioned away from the home. It was a gun. She threw her hands up indicating that she had no weapon and pleaded "I'm sorry! I'm looking for Ana!"

"What do you want with her?"

"I just…" Callie began when she heard the door to the room she had been looking in open and Stef's voice bellowed "Jesus Foster!" a hint of worry in the stern police voice.

"You brought the police?" the man yelled as he walked closer to Callie.

"No!" Callie said shrinking down against the house "Please" she cried causing Stef to turn towards the window and run over.

"Drop the gun!" she yelled as she kept her gun pointed at the man.

"You said no police! I can't go back to jail!"

"No. This is my fault. I need to talk with Ana" Callie said standing back up with a newly found burst of courage.

"Callie!" Stef half yelled half cried as she realized the situation in front of her.

"No. Ana and I aren't going to jail!" the man stammered.

"Police!" Mike yelled as he entered the room and saw Stef with her gun out.

Stef turned to Mike "No!" Stef attempted to push Mike's gun down. She knew that she wasn't going to get anywhere with this man if there were two police officers with their guns pointed at him.

"No police!"

**Bang. Bang.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry! For some reason, this didn't post correctly last time. So here is the new update! Please remember to send me reviews with comments, questions or ideas! And again, I don't own The Fosters. **

**Peace, love June 16th **

**Bang. Bang.**

Stef wiped her head around and watched as the scene appeared in front of her almost in slow motion. Callie grabbed her abdomen with one hand and the windowsill with the other gasping for breath. Stef attempted to continue towards Callie when she felt a sharp sting in her left arm. She winced in pain and grabbed her arm, pulling it protectively into her chest. _Damn it. What happened?_ Stef questioned as she looked down. At first, she didn't see anything out of the ordinary, but soon she felt a wet sensation on the hand that was holding her arm. She looked down and saw red. Blood. She put the pieces together; she had been shot.

Mike ran to the window and took but a second to cock his gun and shot the man in the chest. Without looking back, he turned to Stef "Stef!" he called as he assessed her injuries. "Officer down! 2436 W. Parker. Shots fired! Officer down!" Mike called into his walkie-talkie still attempting to help Stef in any way he could.

"I'm fine!" she replied, obviously thinking about something else. "Callie! Callie talk to me!" she pleaded as she struggled to fully stand up. When she heard no answer, she turned to Mike crying "Please go to her! I'm fine".

Reluctant to leave his partner, Mike followed orders and climbed out of the window and hurried to the young girl who was now lying motionless on the dirt. He pulled out his walkie-talkie for the second time and reported "Officer and child down. Suspect unarmed" he finished as he turned around and kicked the gun away from the man who too was lying motionless. He turned back to the girl and knelt next to her "Callie?"

"Mike! How is she?" a frantic voice filled his head as he stared down. "Mike!?"

He shook himself out of the trance and responded "Hold on, Stef"

Stef tried to keep composure and also continue her role as a police officer. She tried standing up but became dizzy and fell back down with a thud. "Mike…" she managed in a whisper before passing out.

* * *

Talia and Brandon are at a party Talia dragged him to. Talia had clearly been drinking and Brandon sat in a chair with his head in his hand trying to show his girlfriend that she didn't want to be there. Brandon checked his phone as he saw it light up for the 3rd time and pushed the ignore button. He didn't want to deal with Lena.

"Brandon! Come on!" she begged her boyfriend.

"That's the third time Lena has called"

"You need to relax" she said grabbing his phone

Brandon attempted to grab his phone back silently cursing under his breath. "Come and get me" she taunted as she ran into another room holding his phone up above her head. Brandon, knowing full well that he needed to follow her regardless if he got his phone or not, got up and walked into the next room as well.

* * *

Back at the Foster's house, Mariana is back to her phone calling her brother. She is pacing back and forth the length of the upstairs hallway. After another direction to his voicemail, Mariana angrily ended the call and shrunk down against the wall; throwing her phone down. As she began to cry once again, she saw her phone light up and scrambled towards where she tossed her phone. _Jesus!_ She thought as she read the called id. "Jesus!" she practically screamed into the phone as she ran downstairs. "Where are you?" she continued as she reached the room her mom was in.

"Is that Jesus?"

Mariana nodded and handed Lena the phone, leaning close to her mother to try and hear something regarding her brother.

"Where are you?" she stated. It came out a little harsher than she had intended. "OK. Stay there. Were coming to get you." Lena handed back the phone. "Get in the car" she said, running to get her keys and jacket. "Where is Callie?"

"She isn't upstairs"

"What?" Lena could not handle another child missing.

"I dono. She's not there. Maybe she went out for a walk or something." Mariana shrugged, trying to push the fight they had earlier out of her mind.

"Callie!" Lena ran up the stairs and yelled her name again. Upon hearing no answer, Lena descended back down the stairs and took out a piece of paper and a pen, breathing heavily. _Callie. We will be back later. Picking up Jesus. Call me when you get this note, please_. Lena scribbled and threw the note and pen onto the kitchen table. "Let's go" she said almost pushing her daughter out the door.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the party, Brandon caught up to Talia and snatched his phone back. "Please Brandon. Please just have some fun"

"We need to go" he said plainly, realizing that his girlfriend was becoming more intoxicated by the minute.

"It's OK baby. Ill take care of you" grinned a guy watching the two converse. He walked over to Talia and tried to reach a hand out to touch her face when Brandon stepped in between them. "Hey!. Leave my girlfriend alone". Brandon feeling much braver than he probably should be as the young man walked towards him, clearly having a good foot height advantage on him.

"Ohhhh someone's getting jealous"

"Excuse me?"

"Sage stop. Come on Brandon let's just go." Talia instructed.

"Oh. So you let your girl boss you around?" Sage smirked, knowing he was getting under Brandon's skin.

"Seriously? What the hell?" Brandon responded feeling his blood surge through his veins.

"Are you gettin' a little upset, buddy?"

Brandon clenched his fists, "No. I'm gettin' a little pissed."

"Guys stop!"

"No. Let's see what our little boy Brandon is gonna do about this" Sage stated folding his arms across his chest.

"I'm not gonna fight you" he said, knowing it would be in his best interest to just get himself and his girlfriend out of there. "Come on Tal" he said quietly as he turned away from Sage.

"Wow. Didn't know you were into pansies, Talia. When you're ready for a real relationship, gimmie a call". That sent Brandon over the edge. He spun around and punched Sage square in the nose causing the boy to stumble backwards.

"Brandon!" Talia screeched

"You ass!" Sage spat back after he regained his composure. Within seconds, his fist made contact with Brandon's right eye and this time it was Brandon who stumbled backwards.

"Stop!" Talia pleaded. By now, other people at the party had begun to stare at the fight taking place. A frantic Talia looked around and made contact with a group of guys that she knew. "Please" she begged and they took the hint, prying the two boys away from one another. Brandon, restrained by two guys, was breathing hard and wiping the blood that started falling from his nose, not even realizing that a bruise began to form around his eye where the initial punch from Sage had been. Talia scanned the scene and knew things were going to get worse before they got better.

* * *

Lena held the steering wheel tightly. So tightly that her knuckles began to turn white. She didn't know where to start. She wanted to yell at Jesus for being so stupid and she wanted to hug him and never let him go because of how scared she was. Finally, she broke the eerie silence that had taken over the car when Jesus opened the passenger seat door and buckled his seatbelt. "What were you thinking?"

"I dono." Was all he could manage without looking up.

"I just… You could've gotten killed!" she exclaimed, trying her hardest to keep from a full-out scream.

"I'm sorry" Jesus murmured. He knew he screwed up and he couldn't bring himself to look up at his mom.

"How could you…" Lena began as her phone rang. She sighed and picked it up and held it to her ear. "Mike? Mike! What happened? Ok." She replied and hung up the phone, letting it slip out of her hands and fall to the floor. Her hands began to shake as she grabbed the wheel once again and took a sharp turn towards the hospital. Both children in the car had no idea what Mike had said on the phone or where they were going, but they both thought asking would not be in their best interest, so they kept quiet.

* * *

The doctor ran in through the emergency room doors, clipboard in one hand, the side of the gurney in the other "I've got a 16-year old female. Gunshot wound to the lower abdomen" he yelled to the nurses who one by one followed him, grabbing other sides of the gurney and turning into a private room. Not far behind, another gurney appeared with a different doctor mirroring what the previous doctor had done. "40 year old female. Gunshot to the upper arm. No exit wound." He yelled as Stef was taken into a separate room.

Stef had regained consciousness while in the ambulance and as soon as they entered the hospital, she began to frantically look for Callie- causing pain in her arm. Now, as she lay in a room surrounded by doctors and nurses, she can't help but ask for help. "Please. Where is Callie?"

One of the nurses looked down at her "She is in a separate room, ma'am" she said gently. "We're taking good care of her, but right now, we also need to take care of you" she added with a smile as she turned back to the other nurses.

Jesus, Mariana and Lena ran into the hospital not knowing where to go or who to talk to. Lena took charge and ran up to the closest counter she could find. Before the woman behind the desk could open her mouth, Lena already began talking "Please. Where are Stefanie Foster and Callie Jacob? They were shot. Are we on the right floor? Please." She continued without a breath. "Ma'am please relax. I will check for you". The woman began to type into her computer and quickly looked back up. "Yes they were just brought in and are both being taken of as we speak".

"Can I see them?" Lena asked frantically.

"I'm sorry, not right now. But you can take a seat and I will keep you updated" she responded pointing to the open space filled with chairs. Chairs that were meant for worried family members to sit in for endless hours as all of the horrible possibilities run through their heads about their loved one. Lena couldn't believe that she was one of those people. She quietly turned away from the desk and saw that the twins had already taken a seat, both looking at the floor. Her heart broke for her children- all of them. Suddenly, she realized that she hadn't called Brandon. _ How stupid could I be?_ She thought to herself and then approached her children. "Do either of you know where Brandon is?" she questioned, trying to keep her voice level.

"Not me. I haven't seen him all day" Jesus responded and Mariana shoot her head indicating that she hadn't seen him either.

Lena's eyes widened, thinking the worst when Jesus stood up and announced "I'll call him. He's probably with Talia or something." He tried to make it sound like it was no big deal to calm his mom. "I'll find him." He concluded as he took out his cell phone and walked out of the room.


	5. Chapter 5

**So sorry for the delay! Finals take a lot outa ya! **

**Also, this chapter is slightly short, but the next section is longer and I needed to break it up somehow. **

**Please keep reviewing so I can keep updating! Thanks for reading!**

Talia finally convinced Brandon to ignore Sage and leave with her. Knowing the party was only a few blocks away from her house, she figured they could walk back- giving her time to sober up and him time to cool down. As soon as they walked into her house, she ushered him into the downstairs bathroom and took a towel to wipe the blood off his face that had slowly dripped down from his nose. "I'm sorry" she whispered, not looking up from her work. "How's your hand?"

"How am I supposta play tomorrow with this?" he snapped holding up his bloody hand. Before he could continue his rant, his phone buzzed again. In annoyance he answered the phone with a loud "What?" However, his tone softened when he heard the worry in his brother's voice. "Wait what? When? Ok yeah. Ok Jesus. I'm coming." He quickly answered and put his phone down on the sink, a vacant look in his face.

"What?"

"My mom and Callie were shot."

* * *

Back at the hospital, Lena tried to keep composure as she waited for what seemed like years for any sort of indication that her two girls were ok. She glanced over to her youngest daughter who had her head down and sighed. _How can I not be mad?_ She thought. Followed by _But how can I be mad?_ As she turned to Mariana, a nurse entered the waiting room and caught Lena's attention. She stood up quickly, eager for answers. "How are they?" She questioned, trying to prepare herself for the worst.

"They are both stable. We need to run more tests on your daughter…"

"Uhhh she's not my daughter" she said hesitantly.

"Oh. Ok. Can I get in contact with a parent or guardian?" the nurse replied taking note on her clipboard.

"Uhhh… she's… we're fostering her" Lena replied.

"Ok" the nurse replied, writing something else on the clipboard, "Well, we will need to speak in detail later."

"Can I see Stef?" She questioned, knowing she needed to see her, needed to talk to her, needed to hold her in her arms and never let her go.

"Yes. But only for a minute" she replied turning to usher Lena to the room. Before Lena followed, she turned to her daughter "Mariana, wait for your brothers. I'll be right back" and continued towards the rooms.

Stef's room was only 6 doors to the left of the waiting room, so Lena reached the room a lot quicker than she had thought. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and stepped in. "Hi" she said in a weak voice, trying to hold back tears as she looked at the love of her life lying on a hospital bed in clear pain.

"Hi" she replied with a small smile, trying to shake off the drowsiness that had taken over her body. She didn't want to go to sleep. She wanted to talk with her wife.

"How're you feeling?" she asked, knowing full well what the answer would be.

"Like someone shot me" Stef responded with a smile. Lena took no humor to the response and looked at her with an angry yet sad look. "Not funny" she finally said. "How are my babies?" Stef asked trying to sit up, but a wave of dizziness hit her and she let herself fall back down onto the pillows.

"They're good. Just waiting for their mom" she said reassuringly. Stef only sighed as a response. "What was she even doing there?" Lena asked. Stef knowing that she was referring to Callie.

"I don't even know how she got there" she finally responded to the question in which she wished deeply she knew the answer to, yet had no answers.

"I love you."

It came out as a small whisper, but Stef knew Lena was trying to keep from crying in front of her. "I love you too" Stef responded, mirroring her wife by trying to hide her tears.

"Please be ok. I can't do this without you" Lena continued. This time, she couldn't force her tears back and they began to spill out as she imagined if her wife hadn't made it out alive.

"Hey! Love." Stef grabbed Lena's hand with her good arm and rubbed her thumb lovingly over her knuckles "I will always be with you. I'm not going anywhere" she finished, bringing her hand to her lips and kissing it ever so gently.

"Ok" Lena said quietly, wiping the tears with the hand that was not still being held by Stef as a nurse entered the room. Stef let go of Lena's hand and turned toward the door. "Ok hello Mrs. Foster?" she looked to Stef and then to Lena "and…" "I'm Lena" "Ok. About the girl." She continued. "Callie?" Lena responded, almost offended that she was being referred to as just a girl. "Yes Callie" "Is she ok?" Stef interjected before the nurse could continue. "She is going into emergency surgery to stop some bleeding in her lower abdomen" she finally stated, sending both women into a worried state of mind.

"Is she gonna be ok?" Lena whispered, almost to the point that no sound came out.

"I will keep you both updated. But right now I need to take Stef down for some more tests. I will let you know when you can come back."

Lena looked down with a longing look she didn't want to part from. Stef winked and reassured her wife "I'm going to be fine. Go take care of our babies" with deep confidence in her tone. Lena sighed, let go of her wife's hand as the nurse rolled her out of the room. Pushing back the tears that began to once again brim against her eyes, Lena walked out of Stef's room and went back to the waiting room. She knew that her children needed her right now with everything going on, though all she really wanted to do at that moment was crawl into her bed with Stef.

* * *

As Lena entered the waiting room once more, she noted Jesus pacing in between the sets of chairs, and Mariana was sitting in a chair off to the side, crying into her hands. Lena sighed and sat down in the chair next to her crying daughter. At this point, Mariana couldn't concentrate to even realize someone was not occupying the seat next to her due to the fact that she was sobbing uncontrollably and whispering to herself _It's my fault. It's my fault. _Lena looked lovingly over to her broken daughter. She knows she needs to be the bigger person- the mother, but she was still so frustrated with her that she didn't know if she was fully ready to forgive Mariana. _How could I not forgive her?_ Lena thought, angry with herself for feeling that way. As Lena pushed her feelings aside to comfort Mariana, Brandon came running through the doors breathing heavily as if he had sprinted to the hospital.

"Where is she? Where's my mom?" he gasped for air between phrases but continued to search around the waiting room.

"Brandon!" Lena exclaimed when she reached her son. "What happened?" She practically screamed as she gently reached up to his nose, Brandon wincing back in pain.

Ignoring the concern, Brandon repeated himself "Where's my mom?"

"She's getting some tests done. But I just talked to her and she is going to be fine. Ok? Now please tell me what happened" she concluded nodding at his face.

"Uhhh it's nothing. Stupid accident" he shrugged off the question and focused his attention to the nurse who was approaching them "Is something wrong?" He questioned almost to tears.

"Oh, no. I just need some extra paperwork filled out" she replied and looked at Lena.

"Alright." She turned to Brandon "Why don't you go have a seat with the twins. This shouldn't take long. And while you're there, maybe you can come up with a better lie as to how you got that" she pointed to his nose once more before turning to the counter.

Brandon looked over his shoulder and felt the anger building up inside. Mariana was still crying into her hands and Jesus had finally stopped pacing and took a seat next to his sister, rubbing her back comfortingly. He couldn't believe them. He couldn't believe how stupid they could be. He stormed over to them with anger in his voice, eyes, and fists "This is all your fault. My mom took you both into her home and life when nobody else wanted you and this is how you thank her? By getting her shot?"

"We didn't mean to…" Jesus started but Brandon wasn't done. "Well it happened. And it's your faults. Screw you both. I wish we never adopted you" he finished as he spun around and sat in a chair on the other side of the room.


	6. Chapter 6

**This chapter took a lot longer to write than I thought! Sorry for the delay. Also, thank you so much for the encouraging comments! You all make me want to keep writing! Please let me know if you like how this story is going. **

Jesus' mouth snapped shut as he held in his urge to scream. _How could he say that to us? To Mariana? _He knew his sister was much more sensitive than he was and he knew she took those words to heart. He looked down at her and watch helplessly as she choked back sobs, her head down. Finally, Jesus found his voice as he sat down next to his twin, "He didn't mean it".

"He's right" she whispered.

Jesus shook his head "He's scared".

Suddenly, Mariana shot up "I need to…" she started, not knowing what she really wanted. "Uhh I need to just, uhh not be here" she finally spat out as she looked around for where to go.

"I'll go with you!"

"No." she stated staring her brother in the eyes.

"Well, where are you going?"

"I just need to get some air. I'll be right back" she finished as she headed towards the door, tears now falling.

Jesus debated to himself if he should go after his sister, despite her wants, but decided against it, for now. Instead, he made his way over to Brandon. "How could you say that to her?" he questioned, solely thinking about how his sister must be feeling and forgetting that what Brandon said was intended for him too.

"I don't wanna talk to you" he responded, not looking up at Jesus.

"We screwed up, ok? But she's our mom too." Jesus started, fighting back the lump that had formed in his throat.

"Jesus! Shut up!" Brandon growled, a little louder than normal, causing Lena to look over her shoulder.

"No! I'm scared too! It's not all about you just because we aren't her blood children!"

"I said" Branded started, getting up. "SHUT UP!" He finished, this time yelling loud enough for Lena to run over to the two boys. "Guys! Stop. Not now" she scolded looking around the waiting room. "Where is your sister?" Lena scanned the hallways as well.

"Brandon yelled at her and she left." Jesus stated plainly, somewhat hoping his brother would get in trouble.

"Left? Left to go where?" She demanded, not sure how much more she could take today.

"She just said she needed air." Jesus responded.

"Jesus, please go find her" she pleaded. She knew that her son would not stop until he found his twin, and she couldn't leave the hospital at that moment. Jesus nodded and walked out the door Mariana had left out. Lena turned to Brandon and looked down with disappointment in her eyes, "And B…"

"I'm sorry" he mumbled.

"Honey, I know you're scared. I'm scared too. But we need to stick together, especially now. And you're the older brother. Whether you like it or not, they both look up to you. They need you. They need guidance. Please help them, for me?" she finished, putting her hand out on his shoulder. Brandon looked up at her with guilt in his eyes, "Yeah, uhh ok I'm sorry" he finally said. After a couple of silent moments, Brandon spoke again "Can I see mom now?"

"Uhhh I dono babe" Lena replied remembering what the doctor said. "We should wait until the doctor comes back and we can go together".

"I feel helpless. I just feel like I need to do something" he complained handing his head.

"I know. Me too" his mother replied as the doors to the waiting room opened. They spun around and saw Mike walk through the door.

"Dad!" Brandon yelled and ran to the door like he used to do as a child. He put his arms around his father's waist and hugged him. "Hey B." Mike said after a tight squeeze from his son. He noticed Brandon's faint bruise forming on his face and questioned "what happened?" Brandon shrugged off the question with a "Nothing big, stupid accident." He followed with a question that he had been wondering for quite some time now, "Did they take your statement?"

"Yeah. But B…"

"What happened?" he asked. No longer trying to beat around the bush. He needed to know what happened to his mother and Callie. He needed to know what exactly happened and he couldn't wait until the doctor came so he could ask his mother.

"Uhh why don't we talk about it later?" Mike quietly responded. He knew his son wanted to know every detail, but he didn't think this was the time or place for that information to be discussed.

Brandon wasn't going to give up that fast. "Why won't anyone tell me anything?" He felt the anger begin to build up once more as he began pacing once more. "She's my mother!" he finished, still pacing, muttering to himself.

"Brandon!" Mike hissed.

"No dad! I have the right to know!"

Before anyone had the chance to respond to his sudden outbursts, Jesus ran back in, panting and flushed. "I can't find her" was all he said.

"What?" Lena finally spoke up after listening to her son and his father talk.

"I checked around the entire building. Mom. I can't find her" he said, finding his tempo quickening.

"Ok. Ummm ok." Lena racked her brain for something to say. She was already at a loss for words about the current situation. She began to speak when Mike cut her off "I'll go look for her". "I'll go too" Jesus piped up.

"Uhhh. Ummm alright" Lena hesitantly nodded her head.

"We'll find her" Mike assured her as he put an arm over Jesus' shoulder and ushered him outside to his car.

Once they left, the waiting room became quiet once more as Lena and Brandon found seats and occupied themselves while they waited for any news. Brandon took out his phone to play a game while Lena leaned her head back against the wall. She was exhausted. As soon as she felt herself nodding off, a nurse walked through the side door.

"Stefanie Foster?"

"Yes" Lena responded, her head snapping up as if the sound of her wife's name gave her energy. She and Brandon walked over to the nurse trying to read her face

"The tests came back and there is no internal bleeding. We took the bullet out of her arm, so she will need physical therapy to maintain mobility in that arm" the nurse explained to the wide eyes in front of her.

"So she's gonno be ok?" Brandon asked quietly.

The nurse smiled and nodded, "she's gonna be outa here by tomorrow." The faces in front of her lit up as the boy asked "Can I see her?" his eyes pleading. "Yes. This way".

Brandon and Lena quickly trailed the nurse and reached Stef's room within seconds. Lena opened the door and walked in, smiling when she saw her wife was awake. Stef heard the door open and tried to get up, but the pain in her arm was too much for her and she sunk back down. "Hi, loves" she instead said and grabbed the remote next to her to raise her bed up to a half sitting-half lying position.

"Hey, mom" he said trying to hide the worried look that was so painfully obvious. "Awww B. Don't look at me like that. I'll be up and about and embarrassing you before you know it" she began before she noticed the now darkening bruise "But what happened to you?!" Stef reached out to her son's face with her good arm as he looked away. "Lena?" Stef questioned her wife when she got no response from her son. Lena shrugged and Brandon finally replied with a simple "not important. No worries".

Although Stef wasn't convinced in the least, she decided to fight this battle later. She scanned the room and questioned, "Where are Jesus and Mariana?" Brandon's eyes immediately hit the ground, which did not go missed by Stef. Her brow furrowed as she looked once again for answers.

"Uhh. Well. Honey, I didn't want to worry you" she started to explain.

"You're scaring me" Stef said, her face beginning to bead with sweat.

"Jesus is with Mike out looking for Mariana".

"What? What happened to Mariana?" She questioned, worry dripping from every word.

"I dono!" Lena threw her hands up in the air in frustration. "She said she needed some air and then…" she trailed off as Stef choked off "My baby" before her heart monitor began to beep quickly.

"Stef. Honey. You need to calm down" Lena quickly sat next to her wife on the bed and held her hand, rubbing her knuckles with her thumb, trying to soothe her panicking wife. Stef tried to comply with her wife's words, but it made her even more nervous to hear the beeping quicken with every breath. "Baby, deep breathes. Come on. Deep breaths for me." Lena coaxed. Stef had lost control and other monitors began to beep as well and within seconds, a team of doctors and nurses ran into the room.

"I need you two outa here" one of the nurses instructed towards Lena and Brandon. "Now." She added, making sure that they understood the urgency.

Lena understood and grabbed her son's shoulders, but he resisted with a plea "no! I can't leave her!"

"The doctors need to take care of her. Come on" she urged and pulled him towards the door with her. "It's gonna be ok, love." She continued as they continued out of the door.

* * *

Mariana looked at her best friend as they continued walking. Mariana was lost in thought as she thought back to what just happened. After running out of the hospital, she pulled out her phone and called the one person who she knew she could trust. Tears poured down her face as she tried to explain what was happening to Lexi. Her sobs droned out her words until Lexi said she would meet her at the hospital. Mariana sighed as she hung up the phone and sucked in a mouth-full of air and quieted her sobs. She looked down at her phone and groaned as she saw she only had 8% battery left.

Not wanting to sit around waiting, she got up and began to walk towards the direction Lexi was coming from. She quickened her pace as she continued to veer away from the hospital, away from Brandon, and away from the family that didn't want her. Before long, she was three blocks away from the hospital, new tears falling from her face.

"Mariana!" she heard her brother in the distance. It took all of her will power not to turn back and let him find her, but she knew deep down that she needed to keep running. She knew what Brandon said was right- it was her fault that Stef was shot, and it was also her fault that Callie was shot. She didn't mean to blame Callie. She didn't mean to yell. She didn't mean any of it, but now what could she do? Mariana continued to quicken her pace as she distanced herself from her brother.

As she continued walking and thinking, she didn't hear Lexi call out her name. "Mari!" she finally got close enough to Mariana to grab her shoulder and shake her. Mariana jumped at the contact, confused as her friend had broken her thoughts. "Mari!" Lexi stated again. "What happened?"

"Can we just go?" she responded and continued to walk.

Lexi jogged over to Mariana and looked over at her best friend. She didn't know what happened, but she knew what would make things better. She hooked her arm around her best friend and led her to her house.

* * *

Lena finally got Brandon to settle down in a chair and took a seat for herself, letting out a huge breath. Before she had the chance to process another thought, a different nurse entered the waiting room asking for whoever was there for Callie Jacob. Lena stood up once more and walked over to the nurse. She turned to look at Brandon who was dozing off in his chair and decided to let him drift off for a while. "She did well in surgery and is resting. She has a long road ahead of her" the nurse explained.

"Can I see her?" Lena asked.

"Yes, but she isn't yet awake." The two women walked towards Stef's room but continued down seven more rooms until they came to a closed door. Callie's hospital room was dark- all the shades had been closed and the lights were off. Lena inched her way in and quietly shut the door behind her. The only sound that emerged from the room was the steady beeping of the monitors that were hooked up to the little girl in the bed. Lena didn't even realize she was holding her breath until it came out suddenly. She continued towards the girl and tried her hardest to keep her tears at bay. "Oh baby." Lena gasped when she saw the tubes, wires, bruises, and swelling covering her tiny frame. She continued to the side of the bed with the least amount of monitors and gently picked up the girl's hand. She slowly rubbed the back of her hand and talked to her, partly hoping she would be able to hear her. "Callie. Sweetie. I am so sorry. Baby girl. I'm so sorry." Lena continued as she let her tears flow without even trying to stop them. Her heart broke for the sweet young girl who had to deal with more in her short life than most people deal with in a lifetime.

* * *

As the girls neared the house, Mariana finished telling Lexi what had happened. Lexi rolled her eyes and looked at her friend. "Brandon is being a jerk. He doesn't know half of what you've been through. He has no right to say anything" she told her best friend.

"But he's right! I'm the reason why my mom got shot and why Callie got shot. It's my fault. If I hadn't been so stupid and selfish about finding my birth mom, none of this would've happened." Mariana was scolding herself more than talking to Lexi.

The girls made their way to Lexi's driveway and she stopped Mariana. "I know what you need" she started, and pulled out a set of keys from her bag. "I stole my sister's keys. And there's a party at my brother's friend's house." She said with a smirk on her face.

"I dono. I don't think I should. Maybe I should go back and see if my mom and Callie are ok" Mariana thought out loud. After venting to Lexi, Mariana was able to look at the situation with more clarity. Even though her stomach lurched at the thought of seeing her mom, she thought it might be best to at least talk to her brother.

"Come on! That girl has been nothing but trouble since she got here. All she's done is take up all your mom's time and gotten in the way. Have they even tried to call you?" Lexi wondered as she looked over at the torn girl. Knowing just what to say to get her friend to listen to her.

"My stupid phone died" she replied showing the blank screen of her now dead phone.

"More of a reason to go to the party. You can charge it there" Lexi concluded as she unlocked the car door.

"Lex. You only have your learner's permit!" Mariana protested.

"Stop worrying and get in!"

Mariana sighed and opened the passanger door. Lexi's phone buzzed and she looked down to see that Jesus was calling. She looked over at her friend who was busy fiddling with her seatbelt and pushed the ignore button on her phone. Mariana still didn't know she and her brother were dating and figured it would be best for her not to find out now. "You in?" she finally asked when Mariana had finally looked at Lexi.

Mariana bit her lip as she thought about what she was about to do. "Yeah" she said finally. "Let's go. Screw 'em all."

"I'll bet they won't even notice" Lexi responded as she turned the key into the ignition.

Mariana looked out the window as a tear rolled down her cheek. "Yeah. You're right" she agreed.


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks for all of the amazing reviews! You guys are great!**

**Reviews make me motivated to write... sooooo cause and effect ;) (Review!)**

**Anyway, I know Callie hasn't been in much of the story so far, but she will be! I promise! **

**Please let me know if you have questions or comments! **

**Peace, love, June 16th**

Jesus and Mike continued in the car. They had searched the neighborhood surrounding the hospital and were beginning to take roads further away. "Lexi ignored my call." Jesus yelled as he threw his phone on the floor of the car.

"Try Mariana again?" Mike suggested, trying to keep the young boy at bay knowing full well that he was worried sick about his sister.

"She turned her stupid phone off" he spat.

"We'll find her. Ok so where else might she go?" Mike responded, trying to get Jesus in a state of mind where he could be of use.

"We can check Lexi's house" he stated plainly. He had no idea if his sister would be able to travel that far in such a short time. "K" Mike nodded. "Left here" Jesus pointed and the two were off towards the new destination.

* * *

Back at the hospital, Lena slammed down her phone after the fourth time attempting to call her daughter. "Damn it, Mariana!" she grumbled, not caring that she swore. She was so overwhelmed by the number of things going on with her family that she had difficulties sorting it all out. Lena sighed and sat down next to Brandon who looked as if he was in a trance; staring off into space.

"I shouldn't have yelled" the soft sound escaped from his lips, intending to only hear it himself, but not realizing Lena had sat down, the information was not a secret.

"What?" Lena glanced at her son, who was still staring off, unaware that she had heard what he said. "Brandon" Lena gently touched his shoulder and he jerked out of his trance, his eyes snapping up to meet Lena's. "Hmm?" he questioned. "What do you mean you shouldn't have yelled?" she looked directly into his eyes, making sure that he heard her.

"Uhhh…" he started, knowing he was cornered. His mom was going to find out soon enough and if he told, maybe they could find his sister before anything bad happened to her. "She… uhh Mariana left because I… I blamed her for this" he finished looking down, he could no longer take the worried look hi his mom's eyes.

"Who what?" Lena spoke sharply and used one hand to bring Brandon's face back up into her line of view- she needed to know every detail.

Brandon shut his eyes, not wanting to look at his mom who he could tell was almost at her last straw with this day. So, instead of looking at her, he stood up and looked back at the floor, rocking back and forth on his feet. "I… I told her it was her fault. Err that it was the twins' fault. That they didn't appreciate everything we did for them." He started, feeling his cheeks burn with guilt and his eyes burn with tears.

"Brandon you didn't." Lena was in awe of what her son was saying.

"And"

"And what?!" Lena was fuming, not wanting to know what else he could say.

"I told them…" he started, closing off, not wanting to relive what he had said. Lena wouldn't let him. She grabbed his arms and sternly asked "What did you tell them?" Brandon's eyes shut as he felt his mother's grip tighten against his wrists. "she got my mom shot and I was scared. I wasn't thinking" he tried to explain himself, along with avoid the question. "Brandon. I am not gonna ask you again." Lena knew if she didn't keep calm with her son, she would blow up right there in the hospital. So instead, she stared into his closed eyes and waited. "I told her I wish we never adopted them" hi finally finished, tears freely flowing.

Lena dropped his wrists and gasped. She had thought of numerous things Brandon could have said, but she hadn't thought it would be anything like this. She walked away from her son, stumbling over her own feet. She couldn't feel anything, her heart ached for her children, tears fell from her eyes, but Lena didn't notice.; she was in shock. "I'm so sorry, Lena" she heard Brandon's voice, but it was muffled and sounded as if he was speaking from across the room. Pulling herself out of her thoughts, she realized Brandon was trying to apologize, but all she could do was look at him and quietly say "I can't be around you right now."

"Lena…" his voice trailed off.

"Brandon! Just go sit down!" her voice rising as she snatched her phone once again and hurried off towards the door- needing some fresh air.

* * *

Lexi and Mariana had been in the car for about 10 minutes. Lexi had turned on the radio in hopes of getting her friend to relax, but as she looked over at a silent Mariana for another time, she sighed and turned down the radio. "Mar! You need to loosen up!"

Mariana had been so distracted by all of her thoughts, she forgot about her dead phone in her hands. "Can I plug in my phone?" She asked, avoiding the statement.

Lexi reached down to the floor and grabbed a charger, plugged one side into the car, and gave the other to Mariana. "Come on. Don't worry about it." Lexi was trying to get Mariana to forget about all the bad that was happening and just look forward to having fun, which is how she always handled things. "Shit!" Mariana squealed as her phone turned on showing she had 15 missed calls from Lena and Jesus. "What?" Lexi looked over.

"I have to go back… I…" she began before Lexi cut her off. "Mar! No you don't. We're gonna have a good time tonight."

"What if something happened to my mom or Callie?" she shuttered as the thought flowed freely through her head.

"Why are you being such a baby?" Lexi suddenly asked, not looking at her friend who had become eerily quiet.

"My mom is in the hospital from a gun shot wound and you think I'm acting like a baby?!" Mariana was not only surprised by the question, but also hurt.

"They've treated you like crap since that new girl started staying with you. They don't have enough time for all of their kids and since Callie is so much of a handful, they barley have enough time for you or your brother. It's not fair" she finished, Mariana has started tearing up once more. Lexi looked over at her friend continuing, "I'm sorry, Mari. I just see you and you tell me about it all the time. Its not fair to you and Jesus."

"My moms love me" Mariana stated, more for her benefit than for Lexi's.

"Brandon said some nasty things" Lexi reminded her.

"He… he was just scared" she began, tears continuing to form. "They wouldn't just…" she couldn't get the rest of her thought out due to the giant sobs that escaped from her mouth as tears poured out and her body began to shake.

"Mari, I'm sorry" Lexi started as she pulled the car over to the side of the road and looked at her best friend. "Do you want me to take you back?"

"I'm gonna be in so much trouble" Mariana thought out loud, realizing how long she had been gone.

"Soooooo…" Lexi started, beginning to get annoyed that her friend was just sitting there.

"I dono, Lex!" She responded, looking down at her phone.

"Ok, well if I don't get this car back by the time my sister gets back I'm gonna get my ass handed to me. And I kinda really wanna go to that party"

"You know what?" Mariana asked, unbuckling her seatbelt. "Why don't you just go to your damn party." She finished, opening the door and slamming it behind her.

"Mariana!" Lexi yelled as she rolled down the window. "Leave me alone" Mariana called back.

"Come on! You're being stupid!"

"I said leave me the hell alone!"

"I'm your best friend." Lexi began

"A best friend wouldn't say this shit" she replied coldly and continued walking.

"I'm just telling you the truth."

Mariana was beginning to loose her patience with her "friend". "JUST GO!" she yelled into the window.

"Fine." Lexi rolled up the window and sped off, leaving Mariana alone with 4% battery and eyes full of tears.

* * *

Jesus slammed his fist on the dashboard in frustration. They had been driving around for what it seemed like hours without any luck. "Come on. We'll find her" Mike said, trying to convince both of them.

"I can't loose her. She's all I have." He said, hanging his head down, a newly found sadness taking over his previous anger.

"Hey now." Mike began, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder in comfort. "What about the rest of your family?"

"I dono"

"What do you mean you don't know?" Mike asked, throwing a concerned look at Jesus, who still had his head down.

"Nothing. It's stupid" he began before a buzzing sound forced him to reach down and pick up his phone. He turned it over and looked at the caller id "Mariana!" he exclaimed as he answered the call. "Mar!"

Mariana was bawling, trying to create audible words to her brother, knowing full well that she would soon loose battery on her phone. "Jesus!" she managed.

"Where are you? Are you ok?" Jesus was beginning to think the worst when his sister responded with "I'm sorry". Mike looked at the teen, trying to understand what was happening. "Mar! Where are you?" Jesus asked once more, desperation coating his words.

"I dono" she finally said. "Lexi picked me up and we were going to a party. But I got mad and got out of the car" the broken girl explained.

Jesus looked over at Mike before relaying the information to him "She doesn't know where she is." Jesus turned the speakerphone on so whatever Mariana said would be heard by Mike right away as well.

"Ok. Tell her to list off everything she can see" he instructed.

"Mar? Did you get that?"

"Yeah"

* * *

Lena had since come back into the hospital after her moment of breaking with Brandon. She convinced herself that she needed to be strong right now. Thinking about her family made it a little easier to do this. She slowly walked back into the waiting room and set her phone gently down on one of the tables. She wasn't a very religious person, but Lena folded her hands and closed her eyes. _It can't hurt, right?_ She thought to herself.

After a few silent minutes of awkwardly praying to the best of her knowledge, her phone began to ring. She quickly grabbed it and saw that Mike was calling. "Mike? Did you find her?" she practically screamed the words into the device.

"She just called Jesus and we're trying to track her down now" he explained as he continued driving.

"Where is she?"

"She doesn't know. I'll explain when we get back. Lena, I promise I will bring her back" he concluded, meaning every word he said. Although he wasn't Lena's favorite person in the world, nor she was to him, he did care about her and her children. He knew how frightened she must be, and decided he would do anything he could to relieve some of the fear, if possible.

"Thanks, Mike" she replied, taking her phone down from her ear and then putting the phone over her heart. She stood there for a moment, just feeling her heart beat before taking a deep breath and starting to walk. She had no destination in mind, but soon found herself outside of her wife's door. _I need you. _She thought to herself as she leaned the back of her head against the cool door. _Please. Please don't leave me._


	8. Chapter 8

**So sorry for the delay! Finals are almost done, so updates will hopefully be quicker. **

**Thanks for the reviews! You guys are great! This chapter has more Callie and Stef in it. Sorry for that delay! **

**Please continue to review because I'm not sure if you guys like it or if I should continue. **

**Thanks! Peace, love, June 16th**

One of the nurses walked by Lena on her way to check charts. She stopped, looked at the woman, and then at the chart outside of the room.

"How is she?" Lena murmured, as the nurse flipped through the chart once more before placing it back in its holder.

"Chart said she's doing well. You're welcome to go in" she smiled and gently placed a reassuring hand on Lena's shoulder before continuing with her original task.

Lena stared at the closed door. She reached for the handle when she felt a ping in the pit of her stomach and she knew exactly what it meant; she needed to get Brandon. So, releasing the grip on the handle, she turned to walk into the waiting room. Brandon had since then drifted off uncomfortably in a chair.

"Wha…" Brandon questioned as a gentle hand shook his shoulder. He saw Lena and stood up quickly, not caring about the crick in his neck from sleeping at an odd angle. "My mom? Is she ok?" He asked with concern, momentarily forgetting what he had told Lena earlier.

"She's fine, honey. Wanna see her?" the brunette responded trying to smile. She, on the other hand, had not forgotten, but she knew she had to push that away for the time being.

Brandon nodded as he stood up, rubbing his aching neck. The two walked quickly to the door, but before Lena could open it, Brandon put his hand over hers to stop her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said. I am so lucky to have this family. You, Mariana and Jesus and even Callie are the best things that have happened to my mom and me" Brandon gushed to Lena, wiping the tears that had fallen.

Lena's eyes mirrored Brandon's as she pulled him into a hug and held him close to her, tears freely flowing from her eyes. "Oh sweetie."

"Can I see my mom?" Brandon finally ended the silence.

"Yeah. Of course" she responded, wiping tears from her face and smiling down at her son. "Come on."

As they walked into the room, they smiled as Stef was awake. "Did you find her?" she asked as soon as she made eye contact with them, referring to Mariana.

"Dad and Jesus found her and are going to bring her back" Brandon informed his mom.

Stef sighed in relief before looking at her wife and son. She then put a smirk on her face and said "I was wondering when someone was gonna come talk to me. I've been bored sitting here for a while."

"Glad you didn't loose your sass" Lena responded with a laugh and leaned down to kiss her wife.

"Hi love. Hi B."

"Hi mom" he replied looking at her with less concern than earlier.

"How's Callie?" she directed this question at Lena as Brandon sat on one of the couches near his mom.

"She's out of surgery, but she hasn't woken up yet" Lena said and turned to put her purse and jacket down next to Brandon. As she turned around, she saw her wife beginning to unhook her equipment and get out of bed. "Stef! What are you doing?" she asked as she ran over to her and tried to push her gently back down on the bed.

"I'm going to get my babies" she responded matter-o-factly as she pushed up against Lena's arm, trying to continue.

"You can't get up, babe" Lena said softly, grabbing her arm to stop her from moving.

Stef looked up at her with worry and desperation in her eyes. "I can't just sit here, Lena!" She began, tears stinging her eyes. "I need to do something. I am their mother!"

"I'm their mother too. Let me take care of you for once" she replied, wiping tears away from her face with her thumb.

"But…" was all she could get out before Brandon spoke. "Let us take care of you."

"Aw B." Stef looked lovingly at her son, more tears pooling around her eyes. "I love you."

"I love you too" he whispered then turned to Lena "Both of you." Lena turned to her son and pulled him into a side hug while still holding her wife's hand. She knew that today was horrific, and that the next days would be just as bad or even worse, but at that moment in time, Lena was happy and relaxed to be right where she was.

* * *

Mike and Jesus continued driving staring out the window for any of the landmarks Mariana identified, or the girl herself.

"LOOK!" Jesus practically screamed. "There's the bowling alley!" He pointed to the left as Mike pulled the car over.

Jesus didn't even wait for Mike to put the car in park before he threw open the door and took off running. "MARIANA!" He yelled as he frantically searched around the bowling alley.

"Damn it, Jesus!" Mike muttered to himself as he too got out of the car and started running after him.

"MARIANA!"

The young girl perked her head up at the sound of her name. After getting off of the phone with her brother, she found a small 'clean' spot of concrete to sit on as she waited to be found. She recognized her brother's voice immediately and stood up. "Jesus?" she said, not loud enough for him to hear her, but more to calm herself. "Mariana! Where are you?" She heard again and this time spoke so her voice carried, "Jesus!"

The boy looked towards the sounds of her sister crying his name and took off running. As the sounds of crying became louder, he knew he was getting close. Finally, he saw a small figure in the darkness and reached out to grab his sister and pull her into a hug he never wanted to let go of. After a long, silent period of time, Jesus pushed himself away from his sister. "Damn it! Why the hell did you leave?" He didn't mean to yell, but his worry got the best of him. He was glad that Lena wasn't there to lecture him on his choice of words.

"Brandon was right" she said, now looking at the concrete, her voice barely audible.

Jesus shook his head. "No he wasn't. he was scared. He didn't mean what he said."

"They're never gonna forgive me." Mariana whispered, her head falling towards the ground. "No one ever really wants us."

"Hey!" Jesus took his sister's face in his hands and forced her to look at him. That is not true. And you know it. Come on." He put a hand over her shoulder and ushered her to the car, which Mike had decided to stay by once he saw Mariana was close.

* * *

"They found Mariana!" An excited tone elipped form Lena's lips as she read off the text Mike sent her to her wife and son. All three exhaled; Brandon was thankful that what he said didn't put Mariana in a dangerous situation, Stef relaxed when she could focus more on her other baby girl, rather than her two girls, and Lena was holding back tears, not knowing what she would have done if she had lost Mariana.

While they were experiencing very different emotions to the news, a nurse walked into the room. She went unnoticed by everyone except Stef who looked at her and spoke, "Oh! Good! You're here. Does that mean I can go?"

"Well, I'm actually here about Callie."

"Did she wake up?" Lena asked.

"Yes. She is confused and frightened, but awake."

"Go, love" Stef smiled at her wife. Lena nodded, leaned down to kiss Stef, and gently squeezed Brandon on the shoulder before slipping out of the room.

The nurse checked over Stef's charts once more, and Stef went back to her original question, "So, when can I get out of here?"

"We would like to keep you here overnight for observation." The nurse replied, looking at Stef with a genuine care in her eyes.

"But it's not required?" Stef raised an eyebrow.

"Well, if you choose to leave against our recommendations, you must sign some papers, and we need to make sure you have someone at home who can be with you to monitor your condition."

"I can do it!" Brandon piped up, smiling at his mother.

The nurse smiled, "I'm gonna need someone a little older than you, sweetie." She said to Brandon. "Would you like me to ask your wife for you?" She directed the second question at Stef.

"Please." She replied, laying her head back on the pillow. "Thanks"

* * *

After leaving her wife and son, Lena slowly turned to take the short walk to Callie's room. She didn't know what to expect, or to say. She had no idea what the girl would remember, what she would think, or how she would react. Too quickly, Lena reached the door.

Almost parallel to Lena, Callie lay in the hospital bed wondering what they would say to her. _They're gonna send me away_. She thought to herself, not even taking a moment to really ponder the thought. It wasn't anything new for her. She knew it was only a matter of time before they realized how screwed up she was. _At leave June is safe._ She thought, smiling slightly at the thought of her brother. She knew that she had done the right thing before being taken away to juvie. It had been the most painful thing she had ever had to do; they had never been apart. But, she knew with the trouble she got into with their foster father, and her going to juvie, she had to do what was best for Jude's safety, even if it meant splitting them up.

The memories of that night flooded her head and she began whimpering as the thoughts seemed all too real.

_She had already packed her brother's bag with the little amount of belongings he possessed. She threw it out of the window and into the bush below. It was one in the morning, and she knew if she was going to put an end to the abuse, she needed to do it then. _

_Quietly, she woke up Jude, shushing him when he asked what was happening. She took him by the hand and led him outside and around the side of the house to get his bag. Jude, still confused as to what was happening, simply followed his sister, remembering that she always did what was best for him. However, when they reached the back of a church, he was extremely puzzled and decided to ask his sister what they were doing. _

At this point, Callie began to shake as the memories engulfed her head. This was the first time she had truly thought about that night and it was overwhelming. Her breathing became labored and the room began spinning. In attempt to stable her head and thoughts, Lena entered her room. She noted the state of the girl immediately and hurried over to her.

"Callie. Sweetie. Shhhh you're ok." Lena whispered to the panicked child.

Even through the soothing sounds, Callie hadn't yet pulled out of the memory that was playing in her head.

_Callie looked down at her brother, eyes glistening with the beginning of tears. This frightened Jude even more and he begged for an explanation. Callie couldn't form words, so instead, she knocked on the large wooden door and waited for someone to answer. Callie panicked when she thought it might be vacant, due to the time, but was relieved when she heard footsteps. The door opened slightly, and an older woman peered outside._

_Before she could change her mind, Callie bent down to her brother and told him that he was going to stay at the church for a couple of days while she found a way to get them out of the house. She promised him that she would come back for him and that she loved him. As to not upset both her brother and herself more, she stood up and explained to the woman that her brother needed care and there was no one else to help. The woman looked into the large brown eyes of a scared child and nodded in agreement. The woman had children dropped off at the church before, but it was always by a mother or someone older than the young girl at her back door. _

_Jude began crying as the woman gently took him into the church and Callie turned to leave. He questioned why she was leaving him, which only made both children cry harder. Callie never wanted to leave her brother, he was all she had left. But she knew she had to put his safety in front of her wants, and knew this would be the safest place for the boy to be while she figured everything out. _

"Callie, love" Lena said, moving closer to the girl who was now crying hysterically and gasping for air, which did not agree with her injuries, causing her to wince in pain and cry harder. "Callie. Come on, baby girl."

No longer in the memory, but still in a haze, Callie recognized the voice calling her name. "Lena?" she croaked, still trying to breathe through the sobs.

Lena let out a sad but relieved breath of air as she realized Callie still knew who she was. "I'm right here, love" she responded, looking down.

"What's happening?" Callie asked between sobs. She had no idea why she couldn't stop herself from crying. It had always been something she was good at; hiding. But for some reason, it was like the gates to a river had opened and they were not closing.

"Baby. Gimmie your hand" the older woman instructed, allowing the girl to initiate the contact before closing her hand in Callie's. "And look at me" she added, trying to relax her as best as she knew how. "Now listen, please" Lena began while Callie held back her sobs, though silent tears continued a steady stream down her cheeks. "You were in an accident. But you're ok. You are going to be all right. Ok, sweetie?" Lena looked into the frightened eyes in the bed and desperately wanted to pick her up, hold her in her arms and never let her go, but she knew Callie was in no way ready for that, so for now, she kept ahold of her hand as the tears began to pick up and whimpers escaped the girl's lips.

"I'm sorry" a small whimper filled the room.

Lena looked down at the crying girl and her heart broke. "For what, love?"

"It's my fault. It's my fault Stef got shot" she forced out.

"Honey. What are you talking about?" Lena sat down on the edge of the bed and stroked the girl's small face.

Callie flinched away from Lena's touch, but the pain was too strong, so she let the hand stay on her head. "I got in touch with Ana for Mariana" it came out barely as a whisper. "I… I just…" She felt the sobs gather and her breathing became short and rapid. "I just…" Callie couldn't get any more out.

"It's ok, sweetheart. Slow down your breathing" Lena continued to stroke Callie's hair and arm, trying to get her to calm down. "Come on, love. Concentrate." She soothed her words as she saw Callie beginning to gasp for air. "Cal, baby look at me" Lena tried once again, but the poor girl couldn't stay together; her tears made it harder for her to breathe and her stiches from surgery were pulling against her skin.

Finally, Lena couldn't watch Callie suffer any longer. She let go of the hold she had on the girl's arm, slowly pushed Callie up, slipped behind her, and put one leg to the other side of Callie's body, so Callie was now lying between Lena's legs, with her body now resting on Lena's chest. Lena wrapped her arms gently around the hysterical girl and rocked her slowly. "Ok. Breathe with me, Callie. Good. Great job, love." After about 5 minutes of Lena's cooing, Callie's breathing finally went back to somewhat normal.

Callie felt lightheaded and confused. _Why did I let her do this? _She wondered as she attempted to sit up, but exhaustion took over and she fell back into Lena. Part of her wanted to kick the woman out, but the other part of her wanted to snuggle up to her and fall asleep. She couldn't remember the last time she felt comfortable enough to do that.

Eventually, exhaustion took over and Callie's head gently fell back onto Lena and fell asleep almost instantly, listening to the gentle heartbeat of her foster mother.

Lena sighed in relief when she felt Callie finally relax and drift off to sleep. She was amazed that Callie let her stay behind her, but didn't question it. She smiled and stroked her hair, while leaning her head back onto the extra pillows. She yawned; it had been a long day and Lena realized she hadn't yet had the chance to sleep. She cradled Callie in her arms and fell gently to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

**So sorry for the delay! I need to up my game!**

**Thank you so much for all of the reviews! You guys are so kind! I hope you like this chapter as well. **

**Please read and review. I am looking for ideas as to where to take the story and what to do next, so let me know your thoughts!**

**I don't own The Fosters, but one can dream. **

Lena and Callie had been asleep for about an hour when Lena felt her phone buzz in her pocket. Careful to not wake the sleeping girl in her arms, Lena reached into her jeans pocket and opened her phone to see a text from Mike.

_Back with the twins. In the waiting room. _

Lena let out a sigh of relief and looked down at Callie, simply watching her breathe. _I wish she would let us in_ she thought to herself as she quietly got out of the bed and gently placed Callie's head on the pillow. She stirred slightly, but settled when Lena put her hand on her forehead. Quietly, Lena whispered "I'll be right back" to the sleeping girl, grabbed her purse, and slipped out the door.

She took a deep breath before walking into the waiting room. She immediately saw Mike, Jesus, and Mariana on the other side of the room, but sat down in the chair furthest away from them. She needed a moment to think, to compose herself, to breathe. Lena was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't hear Mariana and Jesus walk up to her.

"Mama?" A small voice cut through her thoughts.

Lena's head snapped up and she stared into her daughter's red puffy eyes. "Mariana!" She finally got a word out before new tears formed in both of their eyes. Mariana did not life her eyes form the carpet as she felt herself being pulled into a hug. She accepted the embrace, fell into her mother's arms, and the two cried together. Both relieved, worried, tired, and scared.

"I'm sorry" Mariana said into Lena's shirt between sobs.

"Baby" Lena responded, lifting her head so she could see the young girl's eyes.

Mariana's eyes finally met her mother's and the words poured out. "I'm so sorry, mama. It's all my fault. It's my fault mom and Callie got hurt. I'm sorry. You adopted me and I ruined everything. I'm…" She started looking back down at the floor; too ashamed to look her mother in the eyes.

"Mariana! Baby. Look at me" Lena said gently, holding her daughter's face in her hands. "Sweetie. It is not your fault" she began, wiping tears first from her own cheeks, then from Mariana's. "This was not your fault."

"I know you hate me." A statement; not a question escaped from Mariana's lips.

"Mariana Foster. I do not hate you. I could never hate you." Lena stated, taken back from the statement.

A whisper responded "Please don't send us back."

"Oh baby" Lena could tell that her daughter was incredibly fragile and needed to know she wasn't going to be pushed aside for messing up like she had in the past. She pulled her daughter into her arms once again and rubbed circles on her back while saying "you aren't going anywhere." Lena pulled away to look Mariana in the eyes "Mom and I love you so so much. Both of you" she said as she looked at Jesus who was sitting silently in the chair next to Lena, knowing his sister needed undivided attention at the time.

Lena took Jesus' hand into her own and looked at both children as she continued. "You two are just as much our kids as Brandon. You are loved and you are 100% part of this family. I don't care where of who you were born to- you are ours. DNA doesn't make a family. Love does." She finished, pulling both kids in for another hug.

They stayed in this position for a moment, until Jesus pulled away; he wasn't much into hugging for a long time, but he knew that his sister still needed this. So, as he pulled away from the hug, he pushed Mariana back into Lena's arms and sat down next to them.

"I'm sorry for interrupting" a nurse came over to Lena and gently touched Lena on the shoulder; as to not startle her.

Lena stood up, carefully moving Mariana to her side. "Yes"

"Lena? Correct?" she asked. When Lena nodded, she continued. "Hello, my name is Angela and I'm taking care of the discharge of your wife. Stef is getting ready to be discharged soon and I need some papers signed"

Lena's forehead crinkled as she questioned the nurse's statement. "Discharged? Already?"

"Yes. We had recommended that she stay overnight for observation, but she refused. I also informed her that there were drawbacks to leaving against our recommendation, but she simply said she would take care of everything at home."

Lena sighed and looked in the direction of her wife's room. She was not surprised that Stef had said that; she hated hospitals and she hated when she looked weak. Being in a hospital bed must have been extremely difficult for her. "Uhh ok. I'll sign them" She told Angela before turning around to the twins. "Wanna see mom? She's been asking for you."

Jesus' face lit up as he eagerly nodded and got up from the chair. Mariana, who stuck to her mother's side, merely nodded and kept her gaze in front of her.

As they walked, the nurse continued to explain the policy to Lena. "We need to make sure someone is at home who knows what to look for and watch for in care something happens and she needs more care here."

"Yes of course." Lena responded before turning to face Angela. "Do you mind if we see Stef really quickly before I sign the papers?"

"Of course" the nurse smiled and opened the door to Stef's room and followed Lena in.

In her room, Stef was gathering her things, clearly happier that she was able to leave.

"I see you're ready to go" Angela stated as Stef reached down to grab a bag. "Yup" Stef said happily before dropping the bag and grabbing her arm in pain.

"Mom!" Brandon yelled, running over to her. He reached down and picked her bag up off the ground and turned to look at her.

"Guess it's gonna be a while till I can do much. But when can I go back to work?" She turned to Angela, then realized there was something she needed to ask Lena. "Sorry, hold on. Lena?" she turned to her wife. "Where are Mariana and Jesus? You said Mike was bring them back like an hour ago." Clearly, she was beginning to panic once again, which was out of character for Stef. She was usually the calm one. _When is the last time she really slept?_ Lena thought as she pondered why her wife was searching the room in a panic.

"Love, they're right…" Lena turned around to see an empty space behind her, where she thought the twins were standing. "Hold on" she quickly opened the door and saw them standing outside of the door; Jesus' arm wrapped around his sister's shoulders. "Come on. It's ok." She ushered them into the room and gently pushed them forward towards Stef who was now standing next to the bed, heads hanging down in guilt.

"My babies" Stef's voice cracked in relief when she finally saw her children with her own eyes. She slowly walked closer towards them until she could reach both children. "Oh my babies" She first hugged Jesus on the side, careful to not bump her bad arm. She pushed his hair back and whispered into his ear, "thank you. Thank you so much."

Jesus nodded and took his arm off of Mariana's shoulders. Stef looked down at her daughter, who was trying to stifle her sobs. "Oh Mariana" she finally said, pulling her into a side hug as well, holding her as close as humanly possible without hurting herself. "Oh baby" she sighed as Mariana let her tears flow freely into her mom's shirt. She lifted Mariana's head up to look into her eyes. "Don't ever, ever run away and scare me like that ever again." She spoke in the sternest voice she could possibly make under the circumstances. "Understand?" Mariana nodded, sniffling. "I can't loose you." She finished and brushed a tear that escaped and was traveling down Mariana's cheek.

"I'm sorry" she said, putting her head back down.

"For this?" Stef questioned and lowered her head to look at her daughter who was still looking down. "Nu-uh love. This is not your fault."

"Bu…"

"No." Stef stood up straight. "Look at me" she ordered and Mariana slowly lifted her eyes. 'This was not your fault. Understand?" Mariana's head dropped back down towards the ground. "Mariana?!" Stef repeated and saw her daughter nod slightly. "Good." Stef hugged her once more and looked up, pushing back the tears that were sure to fall if she didn't turn her mind to something else. "So. Can we get outa here?" she asked Angela as she rubbed circles on Mariana's back.

"As soon as these forms are filled out" she responded holding up a small bundle of papers. Lena reached out her hand for the papers and walked outside to sit in a chair in order to fill them out. The rest of the family began to walk towards the door as Angela continued. "And Mrs. Foster. You know the only way we are letting you go home today is if you monitor yourself, don't exert more energy than needed, come back if something hurts too much, and come in for a post exam in three days."

Stef looked back at Angela after they all exited the room and responded with happiness, "yes. Anything to get outa here." She squeezed Mariana's shoulder and looked down. "So, Miss Thing. What should we do when we get home?" She knew her daughter needed a distraction just as bad as she did. Talking always distracted both of them.

Mariana shrugged and looked back at the floor.

"What's so interesting down there?" Stef asked her daughter with a smile.

Mariana looked up at her mom and forced a smile. "Sorry."

"Maybe we can all watch a movie" Jesus piped in, knowing full well that his sister wasn't going to answer.

Stef looked at him and smiled. "I think that is a great idea. Sound good to you?" She looked at Brandon who was still holding all of his mom's things.

"Yeah. Sounds great."

"Yeah. And maybe you can tell me how you got that black eye when we're on our way home" She raised an eyebrow at him as he shrugged his shoulders. "It's really nothing. Promise, mom."

Stef sighed. She knew she wouldn't get an answer out of Brandon in front of all of these people, so she looked down at her daughter who was still slinging onto her side and asked "Does that sound like a good idea to you, Miss Thing?" She was trying to pull any sort of emotion from the girl, but all she got was a "Sure." At least it was something.

Stef saw Lena walking back to them after handing the papers back to Angela. "Anything else?" Lena asked the nurse.

"She will just need to sign out at the front desk" Angela replied. "Hope you're feeling better soon." She smiled and walked off.

"Thanks" Stef replied and turned to walk to the front desk. Suddenly, she whipped around to face Lena, her hand flew over her mouth.

"What's wrong?" Lena asked, hoping Stef wasn't going to be sick. She reached out to take hold of the woman's good arm and looked her in the eyes.

"How could I be so stupid? I can't believe I forgot. I am a terrible person!" Stef yelled to herself as she began walking towards the waiting room.

Lena looked at her with puzzling eyes and followed quickly. "Love, what are you talking about?"

"How could I be so selfish? All I was thinking about was getting out of here and I didn't once think of Callie. How is she?" Stef quickly turned to face Lena, tears brimming her eyes.

"Babe, she is gonna be ok. She has been sleeping for most of the day." Lena assured her.

"How could I have been so selfish?" Stef asked herself out loud. She looked up at Lena and asked "Could you take me to her room?" Her voice was so small that all Lena wanted to do at the moment was hold her in her arms.

Lena nodded and guided Stef towards the direction of Callie's room when an officer stopped them.

"Ahh Officer Foster. Glad to see you're up. I was just coming to find you to ask you some questions." Stef knew him from work, so she knew he was trying to be as professional as possible, but his concerned side for his co-worker slipped.

"Can't it wait?" Stef whined.

"You know it can't" he said sympathetically.

Stef turned to look at Mariana, Jesus and Brandon who were behind her and then at Lena who was still at her side. "You go. The kids can wait in the waiting room for a few more minutes. I am going to check on Callie and as soon as you're done, you can see her too." Lena said, looking deep into her wife's eyes. "You did nothing wrong. You were shot too. You were in shock and afraid. It's ok. She is ok. You are ok." Lena assured Stef as she kissed her on the cheek and reached for Mariana. "Come on, love. Mom will be right back." Lena gently pulled the girl with her to the all too familiar chairs of the waiting room.

Lena gently set Mariana down in a chair and looked at her children. "I'm going to check on Callie, ok? Just chill here for like 10 minutes and I promise we will go home." Brandon and Jesus nodded, but Mariana stared off into space, as if she wasn't aware of anything around her. Lena bent down to her level. "Mariana." The girl snapped out of her gaze and looked at her mother. "I will be right back, ok?" Mariana nodded and fell into her gaze once more. Lena sighed and stood up and made her way to Callie's room.

As she quietly opened the door, she saw that Callie was still sleeping. _Thank God._ Lena thought to herself. _She hasn't slept for this long in a while._ Hesitant to continue towards her in fear of waking her up, Lena made it around to the other side of the bed and sat in the chair. She didn't know if she was waiting for something to happen or for someone to come in, she was just content with being there, in the room.

Moments later, as if she sensed another presence in the room with her, Callie woke up. "Wha? Hu?" She looked around, confused and worried. _Where am I?_ Callie thought as she slowly remembered the incident.

"Hi, sweetie" Lena gently said as she sat on the side of her bed, just as she had done earlier.

"Hi." Was the only thing the young girl could force out; her throat was extremely dry.

"How are you feeling? Mom's gonna come visit just as soon as she is done talking to the officers"

"I'm ok." She forced out, her voice sounding raspy. Lena took that as a hint.

"Want some water?"

Callie nodded as Lena went to fill up a cup and brought it back. Lena carefully used one hand to life Callie's head up and the other to hold the cup to her lips. Callie drank the entire cup in a matter of seconds; the water feeling amazing going down her throat. She wanted more, but Lena put the cup down and told her she would get more in a little bit. Callie sighed and let her head fall back on the pillow. Callie turned to Lena and asked "Am I gonna have to talk to the police officers too?"

Lena nodded gently. "But not now, love. Now is when you get yourself better, ok?" Lena looked into the girl's eyes, trying to calm her with just her look and tone of voice. The two sat in silence for what seemed like hours before the thought burning in Callie's head fell out of her mouth.

"Please don't send me away."

Lena froze. She turned to the little girl in the bed and looked at her, questioning if she heard correctly. "Why on earth would we do that?"

"Usually, if I mess up, I get sent somewhere where I can't get into trouble. Or I get put in a new foster home. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get hurt and cause all of this trouble. I know it is probably costing you a lot. I didn't mean it. I…" Callie began rambling about all of the things she was sorry for and Lena shook her head. _This girl doesn't know how to be a child. She skipped right over childhood and into an adult's role._ She felt sad for the girl lying in front of her.

"You are not going anywhere. Not until we are positive you are in a home with people who love you and care about you." Lena stated matter-of-factly.

Callie turned away from Lena to cover the fact that tears were forming in her eyes. She had never felt so safe in a foster family. She desperately wanted to cry into Lena's caring arms, but she knew she couldn't open up to them. Because if she did, they would mean something to her, and it would be that much harder when she was sent away again. Changing the subject, Callie asked "When can I leave?"

"I dono, love" Lena combed her fingers through Callie's hair. "We will have to wait and see what the doctor says."

Callie nodded and yawned.

"You tired?" Lena asked?

Callie nodded again.

"Well why don't you get some more sleep? Stef is gonna come sit with you as soon as she can, and I am gonna take the kids home. I'm gonna grab some of your things and my things and come right back, ok?" Lena asked, still combing through Callie's hair.

Callie turned towards Lena with a frightened look on her face.

"I promise I will come back." She reassured the girl and bent down to kiss the top of her head.

Callie nodded once more and turned back into the pillow.

Lena began walking out the door. She knew they all had a long road ahead of them.


	10. Chapter 10

**IMPORTANT!**** I changed the ending of chapter 9, so if you haven't read it since the day I posted it, please go back and read it. It is important for the rest of the story. Thanks krista1999 for catching that mistake. **

**I know many of you are wondering why Stef hasn't been conversing with Callie, and I'm getting to it, I promise. I'm working hard to comply with all of the suggestions and comments. **

**Thanks for the reviews! I am hoping that you like the story. If you don't, please let me know and I can stop writing. **

**Anyway, that is a lot of author's note. Sorry! On to chapter 10!**

**Peace, Love, June 16th.**

The three children were silent in the waiting room, unsure of what to say or do. Brandon was especially uncomfortable as he kept his eyes on the ground; too guilty to make eye contact with his siblings. After a few moments, Brandon decided that he needed to be the bigger person. _I am the oldest._ He thought to himself as he walked towards the twins who were sitting next to each other. "So…" Brandon started, sitting down next to Jesus. "I didn't mean what I said. I was out of line and not thinking." He continued, picking at his fingernails. "I am so sorry. I am so glad you are part of this family. I wouldn't know what I would do if you weren't here. I wish I could take it all back." Brandon looked up at his siblings to see them both looking back at him; both eyes full of acceptance and forgiveness. "I'm sorry I was an ass." He finished, cracking a small smile.

"We're sorry you were an ass too." Jesus responded, mirroring the smile.

It was as if a weight was lifted off of the entire room. They relaxed into their chairs and inhaled fresh air, happy to get past the beginning of the apology. However, the silence didn't last long- as it never did.

"When is the last time we ate? I'm starving."

Mariana rolled her eyes at her twin, speaking up for the first time in quite a while she responded with "When aren't you hungry?"

"Hey! I need my strength. I'm a growing boy." He said standing up and looking around. Mariana rolled her eyes again.

"I saw a vending machine at the end of the hall" Brandon stated, standing up as well.

"Your treat?" Jesus said with a genuine smile.

Brandon pulled out his wallet. "Fine." He said, but smiled back at his brother before looking down at his sister. "Mar, do you want anything?" Mariana didn't look up as she shook her head no.

"You sure?" Jesus asked looking at her. "Brandon's buying"

"Uhh maybe a water if its there" she finally said as she pulled her legs up to her chest and rested her head on her knees.

Brandon and Jesus looked at one another with question but nodded and turned to get the snacks.

As Lena shut Callie's door, she inhaled deeply and merely stood with her back resting on the door. Not wanting to move, think, or act; she took a moment for herself. _I need to be a mom._ She thought as she pushed herself upright and made her way to the waiting room. She saw Mariana sitting in a chair, folded up into a small ball with her legs pulled up as close as possible to her chest and her head down. Lena sighed and walked over to her daughter.

Mariana didn't notice her mother was sitting next to her until she felt a soft hand against her back. The young girl lifted her head up and Lena asked, "Where are your brothers?"

Mariana looked in the direction her brothers walked towards. "They went to get a snack at the vending machines." She said and put her head back down.

The action did not go unnoticed by the older woman, but she lightly said "Those boys and their food. But now that I think about it, no one has eaten since lunch. Are your brothers bringing you back something?" She asked as she looked down at her daughter who didn't move from her position while answering.

"I'm not really hungry."

Lena had a confused look on her face as she lifted her daughter's head up so they were talking face to face. "You haven't eaten much all day. Are you feeling alright?" She studied the girl as she fidgeted in her seat.

"Yeah I'm fine. I just…" Mariana tried to think of something to tell her mother quickly. "I don't like hospital food" she finally said, hoping it would be enough for the woman to stop questioning her. However, Lena knew better and cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrow at her daughter responding with "Vending machine food is the same everywhere." Mariana looked away from her mother; she knew she was caught in a lie. She finally shrugged and said "I'm just not that hungry right now."

Lena sighed and responded with "You'll eat something when we get home, yes?" It was a question but Mariana knew full well that she had no choice in the matter. The young girl nodded and put her head back down, avoiding her mother's eyes as she lied once more.

Before Lena could continue to pry, Stef emerged into the waiting room and caught her eye. "Wow. That was fast." Lena stated as she stood up to meet her wife.

"I'm just that good" she responded before feeling small hands being wrapped around her waist and looked down. Mariana had flown off of the chair as soon as she saw her mom and attached herself to her side once more. "Hi, love" Stef said, stroking her hair as the girl buried her head into her mother's stomach. Stef looked up at her wife and cocked her head in confusion. She knew Mariana was feeling guilty, but she was being awfully clingy. Not that Stef really cared, it was just very out of character for her typically diva prone daughter. Lena gave her a look that said they would talk later.

Stef looked around and asked "Where are my boys?"

"They got hungry." Lena stated.

Stef nodded "Figures. Umm babe, will you take me to Callie's room now? And maybe take the other kids home. They've been here for a while."

"That's what I was thinking too. Callie is in room 134 right down there" She told Stef while pointing before looking down at the girl who hadn't loosened her grip on her mother. "Mari, love." The girl didn't move, so Lena crouched down to her height and gently pushed hair out of her face. "Sweetie, mom is gonna go be with Callie for a bit and I'm gonna take you and your brothers home, ok?"

Mariana shook her head no into her mother's shirt and gripped her waist tighter. Lena looked up at Stef and Stef wedged her good arm in between herself and her daughter before looking down at her. Lena stood back up as Stef addressed the girl. "Sweets, mama is gonna take you home. I will be home later today, ok? And we can watch a movie together on the couch." Mariana looked as if she could cry at any moment and Stef asked the question both her and Lena were wondering. "Baby, what's wrong?"

Mariana simply shook her head and dropped her hands away from Stef. She turned around and slowly made her way towards the chairs. Lena and Stef both made a mental note to address their daughter as soon as they could, but before they could converse about it, they heard Brandon and Jesus walking back from the vending machine. Lena could see snacks and drinks filling both boys' arms.

"Guys! We're going home. We have food there."

"We didn't know how much longer we would be here. Plus, Brandon was paying, so I took full advantage" Jesus smiled as he reached his mothers.

"Yeah. You sure did" Brandon responded.

"Ok, loves. Mama is taking you home and I'm gonna stay with Callie. So please be good and do your homework." Stef said looking mainly at the boys.

Both boys rolled their eyes but nodded and started towards the door. Stef grabbed Lena and turned her so they were face to face before planting a kiss on her lips. "I love you" Stef said as she pushed a curl out of her wife's face and smiled.

"I love you too, babe" Lena responded and kissed her once more. "I'll text you once we get home and settled. Let me know if anything happens with Callie, ok?"

"Of course." Stef responded as Lena turned towards Mariana, who was still sitting in a chair.

"Come on, baby" Lena directed at the girl as she put an arm over her shoulder and guided her towards the door.

* * *

As soon as Stef could no longer see her family, she took a deep breath and turned towards the door Lena had pointed to and began to inch her way over. She stopped when she reached the handle and peered through the small window in the door. She saw that Callie was asleep- or she assumed that she was based on her still body. Stef thought about going to the waiting room until Callie woke up, but then decided that if the girl was in fact sleeping, she would catch up on some much needed sleep in the chair next to the bed, which allowed for much more privacy.

Taking in another deep breath, Stef pushed the lever down and opened the door. The lights were off and the only light visible was the street lamp that was positioned outside of Callie's room. Stef carefully closed the door behind her and continued towards the girl. As she neared the bed, she was able to confirm her thoughts; Callie was sleeping. She looked so small in the giant hospital bed, but was sleeping peacefully, which was a relief to Stef; she knew Callie didn't sleep much. Stef reached down to kiss the girl on the temple but stopped herself before she made contact. She didn't know if the brunette would wake up or be startled by the touch, and decided against the action. At least for now.

Stef sat down in the chair and leaned her head back. She finally had a quiet moment to herself without being hooked up to a machine and without people asking various questions; she finally had a moment to let her own thoughts flow. _What the hell was she doing there?_ Was something she had been thinking about since she realized it was Callie standing outside of Anna's house with a gun pointed at her. _I don't understand. _She was almost talking to Callie through her thoughts. _I don't understand why you close yourself off. Why you won't let anyone care about you or take care of you. _Stef threw her good hand over her closed eyes and continued tending to her thoughts that seemed to never end.

_This girl has been with us for barely 2 months and she has made her way right into my heart. _She lifted her head up and looked at the girl sleeping. _How did you do that? _She laid her head back once more shaking her head. _Why do I feel like this is one of my own kids that are hurt? _Stef was snapped out of her thoughts when the sound of whimpering filled the room.

Stef looked over at her foster daughter and a motherly instinct took over. She got up off of the chair and sat at the side of the bed. Even though she knew she shouldn't touch the girl, the whimpering became too much for her, and she threw caution to the wind and softly stroked the girl's arm.

At the touch, Callie flinched away from Stef, grimacing in pain as a result. The brunette began to cry while still in a seemingly hard slumber. The blonde couldn't just watch the girl cry and took it upon herself to calm Callie down. She lowered herself on the bed until she was lying parallel to Callie and turned onto her good arm. She slowly reached out her bad arm and shuttered at the pain, but continued to reach over to the girl. She rested her hand on Callie's arm once more and moved her fingers up and down, keeping her arm still. This resulted in no pain for Stef.

Callie once again flinched and began forming words as her breathing labored. "Stop. No. Please" Callie pleaded into the room. "I don't want it. Please!" She began thrashing her head back and forth on the pillow. The older woman pulled her arm back and instead tried to use her voice to sooth the frightened girl. "Callie, love. Baby you're ok. I promise. You are ok." She looked over at the girl whose breathing had begun to even out and whose sobs had turned back into soft whimpers. Stef continued, "Baby girl, you're alright. Shhh. Shhh baby. It's ok." Callie stopped moving and once more fell into what seemed like a peaceful sleep. Stef sighed as she let her head rest against the bed behind her. Even though she knew she should probably go back to the chair, something about the way she was able to calm Callie in the current position caused her to stay put and continue to whisper soothing words to the girl as she continued sleeping.

* * *

Lena had gotten her kids home in a matter of minutes; being as the hospital was only 10 minutes away from their house. She watched as Brandon and Jesus climbed up the front porch steps at a slow pace, both heads down. Lena assumed it was from exhaustion and fear. After watching them disappear into the house, she looked back at the girl who was staring off into the air, still sitting in the car. "Mariana" She called, but wasn't surprised when she didn't receive an answer. Lena climbed into the car and sat next to her daughter, gently placing a hand on her knee. "Baby" She tried once more to capture the attention that was clearly elsewhere.

Mariana blinked several times and turned towards her mother. She looked at her with question in her eyes as if to ask what was going on.

"We're home, love." Lena carefully spoke. She didn't know what was going through Mariana's head and was thoroughly confused. "Do you want to go inside?"

Mariana nodded but once again did not talk. Lena sighed, climbed out of the car, and then put a hand out to help the girl down. Mariana quickly latched her arm around Lena's waist just as she had done with Stef at the hospital. Lena looked down and knew she needed to address the situation now, so she began walking to the door, Mariana walking at the same speed as to not be detached from her mother.

The two females walked into the house and Lena turned to see her boys watching television together. It wasn't often when Brandon and Jesus were able to agree on a show that they both liked, so she didn't say a word and continued up the stairs to the second floor. She walked past her kids' rooms and into her own, knowing full well that Mariana would follow. She looked down at the girl and lifted her lowered head up so she was looking into her eyes. "I want you to take a shower and then we are gonna talk, ok?"

Mariana nodded but did not let go of her mother. Lena kept her gaze on her daughter and pushed Mariana's hands off of her waist but kept the small hands in her own, kissing them gently. "Baby, please get into the shower. I'm gonna get you something to eat and bring it up here. You can use the bathroom in here." She turned the girl around and gently pushed her in the way of the bathroom. Mariana slowly continued the short rout into the bathroom and Lena exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding. She couldn't for the life of her think of why Mariana was all of a sudden so closed off. She obviously knew the girl was tired and felt guilty, but her behavior didn't match that. She knew there had to be more. Shaking off the thought for the moment, she went downstairs to check on her sons and to grab something for Mariana to eat.

* * *

Stef hadn't realized how tired she actually was until she was pulled out of a light sleep by movements next to her. Momentarily, she forgot where she was, but then remembered that she was in Callie's hospital bed. She eyed the girl who was tossing and turning once more, breathing labored as well. Stef sighed and began to talk to the girl as she had done before. "Shhh, baby girl. You're alright. Come on, Callie. Shhh Callie girl. Shhh you're ok" She cooed, but unlike the hast time, Callie did not begin to calm. She did the opposite; she began to sob and her breathing turned into short gasps for air. Stef knew her monitors would begin to beep if the girl did not relax soon, and she really didn't want a group of doctors swarming her and waking her up.

So, as carefully as possible as to not hurt either of them, Stef shook the girl's arm and called out her name, hoping that she would wake up without being too startled. Stef soon realized that it would take a little more than the slight jostle of her arm, so she brushed hair away from the girl's face and put her hand on her shoulder, once again shaking her with enough force to hopefully awaken the girl, but not too hard that it would hurt. "Callie, love. Come on baby. You need to breathe."

Callie's eyes flew open and she gasped for breath. She tried to sit up, forgetting once again where she was, but fell back down in pain; the memories coming back to her.

"Callie, love. It's ok. It's me. It's Stef" the older woman explained to the girl who still hadn't fully focused on the present scene.

Callie looked to her side and was confused to see Stef not only in the room with her, but on the bed with her. She never had anyone besides her mother care that much about her when she was sick or hurt. Callie tried once more to take in a deep breath but couldn't fill up her lungs quick enough, so she quickly pushed the air back out and tried again, unsuccessfully. The girl couldn't get enough air into her body and began to panic.

Stef noticed the struggle and sat up on the bed. She looked down at the girl and grabbed her hand. Slowly, she put the girl's hand to her chest and looked back down. "You've gotta slow your breathing down, love." She instructed, her voice stern, but her eyes soft. "Follow my breathing." She said, allowing herself to take deep, slow breaths to model what Callie needed to do.

Callie wasn't able to pay much attention to the woman who had her hand and her head continued to spin.

"Callie. Focus on your breathing. Come on, love" Stef begged. Callie began to focus on the words coming out of her foster mother's mouth and she realized what she was doing. Callie again was confused at the amount of care she was given by this family. It was something she hadn't experienced in a while.

"That's it, baby" Stef praised, as Callie's breathing began to slow down its pace and Callie was able to inhale deeper. Callie didn't even realize that she had been crying until Stef placed her hand back down and reached over to brush her thumb over her cheek. "Good job, Callie" Stef said smiling down at her.

"Stef?" was all Callie managed to say before the room began spinning.

"Callie?" Stef noticed the unfocused gaze on the girl's face and the color suddenly drain from her face. "Callie." She said, slightly louder than before, but received no response.

Machines began beeping and in a matter of seconds, a nurse entered the room and began asking questions.

"Uhhh she was I think maybe having a panic attack or something. Her breathing was rapid and short. She was also crying and I think she probably pulled some of her stiches from moving around" Stef informed the nurse as she eased herself off of the bed. "Then, after I got her breathing back to normal, she just. Uhh I dono. She just…" Stef's voice trailed off and the nurse responded with a quick thank you before turning back towards Callie.

Stef backed up until her legs hit the chair and she fell into it, unable to do anything as more doctors entered the room and surrounded her foster daughter.


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry for the delay! It was just mah birthday! **

**Thanks for the nice reviews! I am glad people like the story. **

**I will hopefully have another update soon, but reviews make me more motivated to write... just saying. ;)**

**Peace, Love, June 16th**

"What's going on?" Stef cried out loud to the room filled with doctors. They had been around her foster daughter for no more than a minute and Stef was already thinking the worst. "Please. What's happening?"

Angela walked over and Stef smiled slightly, happy to see a familiar face in all of the madness. "Hey Stef." She stated, trying to sound comforting to the worrying mother.

"Angela, what is going on?" Stef responded and looked at her for any sort of answer. The hated when she didn't have control of situations, especially if the result was harming someone in her family.

"Why don't we go get some coffee and wait outside while the doctors check Callie over" she said, more of a statement rather than a question as she stood next to Stef.

"I should really stay here with Callie" Stef began, looking over at the girl, who at the moment was completely covered by the bodies of doctors.

"They're probably going to take her into another room anyway, so we might as well get out before they have to" Angela explained and headed towards the door, hoping Stef would follow.

Stef looked from the bed to the door and back to the bed again. She knew in her head that she should leave with Angela, but her heart told her she needed to be by Callie's immediate side. Stef quickly shook her head as if to shake away her arguing thoughts and her feet chose the first option; walking her to the door. With one last look back, she walked out of the door Angela had opened for her and numbly followed the woman towards the cafeteria.

* * *

After reaching the bottom of the stairs, Lena could hear nothing but the TV, which normally would have been suspicious for a problem, but today, she knew her boys were tired and would probably end up falling asleep soon. Still, Lena felt the need to physically see for herself that the boys were alright, so she peaked her head into the room and sighed in relief as her suspicions were correct; Brandon was sprawled out on the large couch, eyes closed, and Jesus was in the chair next to him, his foot lightly tapping the air. Lena smiled and turned back to the kitchen as to not to disturb the content children.

Lena looked around for something she could bring up to her daughter. She opened the fridge and scanned the items. After a few quick moments of comparing, she picked up a yogurt and apple then shut the door. On her way back up the stairs, she grabbed a spoon from the drawer, and a box of crackers from the pantry. Hoping Mariana would be in the mood for one of the items.

As Lena climbed the steps, she heard silence and was confused as to why she couldn't hear the water on yet. She knew she had only been downstairs for 5 minutes and thought maybe Mariana was still getting ready, but she decided to check anyway; noting the behavior of the girl lately, she didn't know what to expect from her at any moment.

Lena entered her room and put the food on her bed before walking towards the bathroom. The door to the shower was closed, but she heard soft cries from the other side of the door. Sighing, Lena gently knocked on the door, "Mariana, love." She waited for an answer, which never came, so she continued to speak. "Are you ok in there?" Lena strained her neck to put her ear as close to the door as possible in order to hear any sort of response, but again got nothing but soft cries. "I'm coming in, Mariana." Lena stated as she twisted the knob and pushed the door open.

Mariana looked up from her position on the floor as soon as she heard the door open, but did not stand up. Quickly, before her mother could make eye contact with her, she pulled her legs even closer to her chest and tried to curl herself into the smallest ball possible in the corner of the bathroom. She shoved her head down onto her knees and tried to hold back the tears that were undoubtedly ready to fall.

Lena looked at the frightened girl and couldn't help but tear up herself. _What is going on?_ She asked herself as she slowly crouched down to the girl's height. _What is causing this?_ She desperately needed to know the answer in order to know how to help her daughter, but she knew it would take some time.

Lena crawled on her hands and knees the short distance towards the young girl, quickly grabbed Mariana and wrapped her arms around her in one swift motion. Mariana did not react to her mother's actions. "Baby girl" Lena began, looking down at the girl who was trying to curl her body into itself to hide from something Lena just couldn't determine yet. "Sweetheart, look at mama" she gently cooed as she rocked the girl slightly. Mariana tentatively looked up at the older woman, her eyes now puffy and red.

"Mariana" Lena stated, talking with a sterner tone- desperately needing to know what was happening. "I need you to talk to me. I need you to use your words and tell me what is going on."

Mariana's gaze froze once again and not a word left her lips. It was almost as if she had begun to process her thoughts and put her feelings into words, but then everything stopped in her head and she was stuck.

"Mariana." Lena said gently rubbing the girl's arms in hopes that she would snap out of her trance.

The girl did in fact seem to come out of her trance and she looked over at her mother. "I…" She began, but couldn't seem to find the right words to explain what she was thinking. "I just… uhh I mean I know… When I was… uhhh" She continued trying, which pleased Lena, but watching her daughter struggle broke her heart and after a minute of trying, Lena wrapped her arms around her daughter again and whispered "It's ok, love. Shhh. We can talk in a little bit."

Lena felt Mariana relax into her arms and finally let go of her legs, resting her head on her mother's chest. "How's about you take that shower now. Ok?" She asked as she stroked the girl's arm.

"Can't we just go back to see mom?" Mariana asked in a small voice, her head still resting on her mother's chest.

Lena crinkled her forehead in confusion and turned her head so she could see her daughter's face. "Mari, look at me" She commanded. "Why don't you want to take a shower?"

Mariana simply shrugged her shoulders and turned her vision away from her mother's concerning eyes.

"Use your words." Lena said pushing Mariana up off of her laying position so she had to look at her in the eyes.

"I just think we should be with mom" she said while fidgeting with the hem of her shirt.

"Honey, we were just there. You saw her, the only reason why she is still in the hospital is to be with Callie" Lena responded, still trying to figure out why her daughter was acting so strange.

Mariana dropped her head and began to pull her legs back up towards her chest but were stopped when Lena rested her hand on her knees and gently pushed them back down before cupping her daughter's face in her hands. "Come here"

The two females stood up and the younger girl followed her mother to the bed. Lena sat against the pillows that decorated the top of their bed and patted the space in front of her for the other girl. As Mariana sat down facing her, Lena took the girl's hands into her own and looked into her eyes. "Baby. I need you to tell me what you are thinking right now. It's just you and me."

Mariana looked down and felt the tears begin to form for the umpteenth time that day. She didn't know how to start. She hadn't talked to anyone about it before and she didn't even exactly know where to start. "I…" She started, but the tears followed closely after and not another audible word escaped as her body racked back and forth from sobs.

"Sweetie." Lena sighed "Come on. Look at me and talk." She forced herself to sound stern even though she was watching her daughter fall apart once more.

Mariana looked up with a look that seemed to pain her. "I can't do it. It happened last time when it… She was shot… and then…. She can't… last time…. Please don't…" Mariana tried her hardest to get out the thoughts in her head, though they weren't making any sense to her or her mother. As Mariana began to speak, she had to try much harder to take in breaths of air. Lena noticed the strain and grabbed her daughter's arms and pinned them to her side. "Mari. Breathe." She ordered and watched as the girl tried to concentrate on getting air into her lungs.

As the young girl's breathing evened out, Lena pulled her towards her own body and scooted down on the bed so all put her head was lying flat. She knew Mariana would usually pull away and say that she was too old for cuddling with her mother, but at that moment, Lena knew Mariana had fallen back into that small girl they fostered years ago; afraid and confused. So she wasn't surprised when the girl laid her head on her mother's chest and wrapped her arm around to be as close as possible to her body for comfort.

As to not get into trouble, Mariana tried to continue talking, like she was asked, but Lena shook her head and cooed, "Shhhh. Love it's ok. Just calm down right now" while rubbing circles on her back in a comforting motion.

Mariana's eyes felt heavy as she felt herself being pulled into a much-needed sleep. She knew she was going to have to talk to her mother about what happened before, but she was happy to just be able to sleep at the moment.

* * *

Stef checked her watch for the 50th time since they had left the room. It had still only been about 5 minutes, but Stef felt like she had been gone for hours. Angela took note of this and quickly paid for her drink before tuning to the woman. "Hey. She's gonna be alright" she said gently as they began to walk back up the stairs to the floor Callie was on. Stef nodded her head and forced a smile to her lips.

The two reached the door and Angela stopped and turned to Stef who seemed to have no emotion on her face. "Stef, I'm gonna go in and check on everything, ok?" She informed the mother and handed her the coffee. "Could you hold this for a minute, please?" Stef nodded once more and numbly took the cup.

Angela smiled and turned to face the door, first looking into the window to see that the girl was still in the room accompanied only by one nurse and one doctor. She opened the door and walked in.

Stef watched Angela enter the room and shut the door behind her. Quickly she peered through the same window the nurse had been looking through only seconds previously and breathed a sigh of relief to see that Callie was still in the room and the doctor and nurses didn't seem to be worried or rushing. She tried to listen to what was being said, but knew she wouldn't be able to hear, so she settled on watching.

After a few minutes of conversing with the doctor, Angela turned to the door and nodded to the woman she saw looking through the window to indicate that she could enter the room.

Stef pushed open the door and quickly walked to the other woman, putting both cups of coffee onto the table, forgetting that one of them was not hers. She made a beeline to Callie and sat on the edge of the bed- as she had done earlier. Noticing the sleeping girl, she placed a loving hand on the girl's arm and looked up at the doctor, smiling at the fact that the girl did not flinch at the touch. "What happened?" Stef asked.

"Callie's internal injuries are taking quite the toll on her body, which she is probably not used to. However, her emotional distresses are wearing her out as well, and together, she is pushing herself way past her limits. You said she had a panic attack earlier?" Stef nodded. "Yeah. And with the surgery only hours ago, her body couldn't take all of the stress."

"So what happened?" Stef asked again.

"She passed out. It is the body's way of temporarily shutting itself down so it can begin to heal. We wanted to keep her in that state, so we have added this" he continued as he pointed to one of the bags that was hooked up to an IV in the child's arm "to help her stay in that state for a couple more hours." Noticing the worried look on the woman's face, he assured her further. "I promise it is completely safe and is doing no harm to your daughter. It is simply allowing her body to rest."

Stef nodded and looked down, slightly disappointed that the reason Callie didn't flinch at her touch was because she didn't even feel it in the first place. Nevertheless, Stef continued to stroke the girl's arm and looked back up at the doctor. "Thank you."

The doctor and both nurses smiled and nodded their heads before the doctor said "She will be out for a few hours, so if you would like to get something to eat or something, now would be a good time to do that." And with that he left.

"Angela" Stef spoke before the woman could follow the doctor and other nurse out the door.

She turned around to see tears forming around Stef's eyes. "You're welcome" Angela responded to the statement she knew the mother was trying to speak. She winked at Stef and turned to continue out the door.

* * *

Lena herself didn't realize the fact that she was tired until she was struggling to keep her eyes open and continue to sooth her sleeping daughter. She knew deep down that she could take a short nap and everything would be alright, but she wanted to be awake in case any of her children needed her, or if Stef called. So, to wake herself up a little, Lena gently slipped out from under Mariana, pausing only to whisper to the stirring girl that she was still here. Once Mariana settled once more, Lena looked around and decided to make use of the quiet time she rarely had to get some things done.

She grabbed a duffle bag from the closet and fill it with some of her clothes from her own drawers and some of Callie's clothes that had just been washed and were waiting to be folded in the basket in the corner of their room. She added a few other essentials to the bag and zipped it up, placing it next to the doors of her room. Glancing at her daughter, she decided she would check on her boys- Mariana could sleep though anything.

Lena made her way down the stairs and into the living room. She noticed that Brandon was sleeping soundly on the couch, but Jesus was not in the chair. In fact, he was not in the room at all. With a puzzling look, Lena spun around and looked into the dining room to see if he had for some reason gone in there. When she didn't see him, she turned to walk into the kitchen and released a sigh as she saw him in the breakfast nook, eating an apple.

"Hi, mom" He stated and took another bite.

Lena's heart rate slowed as she walked over to her son and sat down next to him. "Hey."

They sat in silence for a few seconds before Jesus looked at his mother and asked "Is Mariana alright?"

Lena hoped he didn't hear her cries, but sighed and looked at the boy. "She'll be alright. I think she is very confused and afraid right now."

Jesus nodded his head and looked down, putting his half-eaten apple onto the table. Lena eyed him and spoke up again. "Jesus. What aren't you telling me?"

Jesus slowly lifted his head and looked into his mother's concerned eyes. He knew Mariana would be mad at him for telling, but he proceeded. "Well. Mariana doesn't know I know this, but I know why she is so afraid."


	12. Chapter 12

**Thanks for sticking with my story! Hope you like it still!**

**Please please please please review!**

**Peace, Love, June 16th**

Lena leaned in to show he had her full attention. "Uhh. One day, when our dad was still alive, Mariana and I were playing outside when we heard yelling from inside of the house. I told Mariana to stay in the backyard and I went to the house to find out who was yelling." Jesus' leg was bouncing at a rapid pace and Lena gently put her hand on his knee to still it.

"Keep going, love" Lena coaxed.

"Well, I guess when I went inside, my dad and one of his friends or something I dono if they were friends, he always came over a lot, but I dono I didn't really know him so I guess…" Jesus rambled.

"It's alright. What happened after they came out of the house?" Lena asked.

"I didn't actually see it, but I heard more yelling and then…" he drifted his gaze to the floor and stopped talking.

"Jesus." Lena gently lifted his face up with a finger and saw tears in his eyes. _This must be big_. Lena thought to herself, _if Jesus is crying._ She braced herself for the end of the story.

"Then I heard a gun shot."

Lena pulled Jesus into her arms as she put the pieces together in her head. "Oh, sweetie"

"He shot my dad. He just shot him right there in front of Mariana" Jesus whispered into Lena's shirt as he felt the tears fall down his cheeks, which he quickly wiped away in embarrassment.

Lena's own tears fell as well as she squeezed her son in her arms, not wanting to let him go, but knowing that he wouldn't like the prolonged contact, she released him from her arms and cupped his face in her hands. "I am so sorry. I wish that never happened. I'm sorry you had to keep that to yourself all these years."

Jesus looked into his mom's tear-filled eyes and began to speak when he heard a high-pitched scream from upstairs.

Both Lena and Jesus jumped up and ran to the stairs, knowing who the screaming was coming from. Jesus got up the stairs first and followed the continued yells into his moms' room. As he barged into the room, he saw his sister in a fetal position against the headboard of the bed. She was still asleep, but screams continued to escape from her mouth. He quickly ran to her the bed, but didn't know what to do to comfort her.

Lena followed him into the room and her heart broke as she saw the state her daughter was in. She was grateful that she knew the full story at this point and she walked over carefully to the ailing girl and her frozen twin. She felt bad for Jesus because she knew he was in defense mode for his sister, but couldn't make himself actually do anything at the moment. Lena gently touched his arm and he turned around, new tears in his eyes. "I'll take care of her, baby. Go take a shower, ok?"

Jesus nodded and hugged Lena out of gratitude and fear. He looked back at his sister before walking out the door and into the bathroom.

After her eyes followed her son out the door, they turned back to the girl who was still frantic. Lena sighed as she sat down on the bed and began to calm her daughter down. "Mariana, love. You're ok. Come on, baby" She began as she reached an arm out and rubbed the girl's arm gently. She felt the body tense up underneath her touch, but the screaming turned softer, so Lena continued talking. "Sweetheart, it's ok. Come on, baby. Mama is right here." Lena continued, adding a slight shake to the girl in order to wake her up from the dream. "Mari, love. Wake up. Come on, baby." She put a loving hand on the girl's sweaty forehead and used the other hand to try and pry the girl's hands away from her legs. "Sweetheart, you're alright. Baby I promise." Lena watched as the girl's eyes snapped open as she gasped for air.

"DADDY!" she screamed, unaware of where she was.

"Baby, you're ok" Lena spoke quickly and pulled the still crying girl into her arms. "Oh honey, I'm so sorry." She began to gently rock the girl in her eyes as she shoved her head further into her mother's chest and cried harder. Lena held her daughter as if she was a five-year-old child- rocking her lightly and whispering calming words into her ear while continuing to gently stroke her arms. "Shhh baby. Everything is gonna be ok. Shhh."

* * *

Stef stared down at the unconscious girl lying in the bed next to where she sat. She was happy that Callie was finally able to begin healing, but she was scared that she wouldn't wake back up. She took a deep breath and pulled out her phone to call her wife but was confused when she got her voicemail. She frowned at the phone and dialed the home phone, thinking maybe she was busy and didn't hear her cell. After a minute of ringing followed by the answering machine, Stef furrowed her brow and racked her brain trying to think of the logical reasons as to why no one was picking up. Suddenly, she felt her phone buzz in her hands and the id read _home_.

"Hello?"

"Sorry, Stef. Couldn't get to the phone in time." Lena responded through the phone, her voice tired.

"It's ok, love. Everything alright?" She asked, though she had a feeling that wasn't the case.

"Uhh no. Not really." Lena stated, her voice cracking as if she were about to cry at any moment.

"Babe, what happened?" Stef changed from sitting on the bed to the chair so she could relax without disturbing the girl.

"I don't really wanna talk about it over the phone. I just. Uhh I need you" Lena began to cry over the phone and Stef's heart broke at the sound. She hated when her wife was upset, and she had no way of fixing it at the moment.

"Oh love." Stef sighed and looked back over at the girl who remained in the same spot on the bed. She thought back to what the doctor had said about her being able to leave for a while without worrying about Callie waking up and thought back to her wife. She hated to leave the girl, but she knew she had to be there for her wife. "Ok babe. I'll explain later, but come pick me up and we can talk at home for an hour or so."

"What about…" Lena started, but Stef cut her off. "I'll explain when you get here."

Lena nodded but continued to talk with Stef. "Uhh love, I dono if I can get there right now." Stef threw a puzzled look into the phone and asked why. "Mariana is in a very fragile state right now and I don't know if I can leave her. It took Jesus holding her in his arms for her to let go of me so I could call you back."

Stef's eyes widened. She had no idea that her daughter had gotten worse since leaving the hospital. "Uhh ok. I'll call Mike. It's ok, love. You stay there. I'll text you when I'm on my way."

"Ok. Love you."

"Love you so much"

Lena sighed as she let her phone drop into her hands and inhaled deeply before walking back into her room.

"Mama!" Mariana called out, still in the grasp of her twin. Lena nodded at Jesus and he let go of his grip, allowing the girl to bolt out of his arms and into Lena's.

"It's ok baby." Lena smoothed out her hair as she spoke. "Mom is coming home for a little bit, ok?" This information got a smile out of her daughter and a quick nod of her head. Suddenly, her face fell and she looked up at Lena. "Does that mean you're leaving?" She tightened her grip against the older woman's waist.

"No, love. We're both gonna be here." She responded looking at her son, who was still sitting on the bed. "Thanks, bud. You can go play videogames if you would like"

Jesus nodded and got up to leave, pausing for a moment to gently squeeze his twin's arm.

Lena looked down at her daughter who had her face buried into her shirt. "Can we get you into the shower before mom gets home, though?" Mariana didn't look up from her position so Lena spoke again "baby I will stay in this room the entire time. Promise." Mariana looked up at her with tired eyes and nodded slightly. Lena smiled and walked the girl back into the bathroom, handed her the towel and turned towards her daughter. "I'm gonna leave this door open a little, ok? I'm gonna be right here. We're gonna talk when mom comes home, alright?" Mariana nodded again and turned to begin the shower.

Lena exhaled slowly as she listened for the water to turn on and when she heard the sound, she walked back into her room and flopped on the bed. She threw her hands over her face and closed her eyes. She hadn't had any time alone for quite a while and hadn't had time to process the recent events. As her mind wandered, she felt tears prick her eyes. She didn't know what to do to help her family and she felt useless. Tears fell from her eyes, but she remained silent. The silence didn't last long as her cell began to buzz in her pocket.

"Hello" Lena answered, sounding more tired than she thought she was.

"Lena? Hi, it's Bill"

"Yeah. Uhh Bill is this important? It's been a crazy day here and I kinda need to be here for my kids and wife."

"I know, Lena. And I am so sorry for what happened to Stef and Callie, but there is some information we were just recently presented with that you need to be made aware of."

_Uhhhh I can't take more._ Lena thought as she took a deep breath and spoke into the phone, "alright Bill. What is it?" Lena clenched her hand into a fist, grabbing with it a section of the comforter from her bed.

"Well, when Callie was at her previous foster home, she was placed with a brother." Lena's heart sank; another child that was probably abused also. "Well, when we went to check out everything at the house after Callie ran off, the family said that they would keep the boy with them. However, it appears that he is no longer with them. We aren't sure of his ware bouts, but we have the parents in custody being questioned as we speak." Bill finished and listened for a response.

Lena's tears fell once more and she put her hand over her heart. Knowing Bill was waiting for an answer, she wiped the tears away from her eyes and cleared her throat. "Uhh ok so what do we do?"

"Well. I know Callie isn't fully recovered, but she might be the only one who could tell us where could have run to or other information that we will not get from the parents."

"Bill! She just got shot! She just got out of surgery! I can't do that to her!" Lena's voice loudened and her voice cracked with sorrow for the girl who couldn't catch a break.

"I know. The circumstances are terrible, but anything from her would help. So we will do everything on our part to find the boy quickly, but when Callie is doing better, if you could just ask her for a little bit of information, it would be extremely helpful."

Lena let out a sigh "Uhhh I dono Bill…" she started but then thought about how scared Callie was when she came to stay with them and her heart broke for the boy she had never even met. "Uhh yeah. I can do that. Just give us some time, ok?"

"Yes, of course. Thank you, Lena. I'm so sorry to put you in this situation" Bill tried to sympathize.

"It's alright, Bill" Lena said, turning her head to the bathroom when she heard the water turn off. "I gotta go. Keep me updated."

"I will. You too."

The two adults bid one another good-bye and clicked off their phones. Lena tossed her phone on the bed and with a puzzled look proceeded to the bathroom; _That was an awfully short shower for Mariana._ She thought as she knocked gently on the door that was still partly open. "How's it goin' in here?" No response. "Mariana?" When Lena heard no response once more, she pushed open the door all the way and saw her daughter curled up into a ball on the floor of the bathtub. "Baby" Lena softly cried and dropped down to her knees next to the tub. "Honey. Come on. Let mama help you get out and put some fresh clothes on, ok?" She said, grabbing the towel from behind her.

Mariana was fixated in a trance once more but pulled herself up, unaware that she was naked still; though her mother quickly put the towel over her daughter to spare her any more embarrassment. Lena gently tucked in one of the corners of the towel and helped the girl step out of the tub. "Mariana" Lena called, lifting her head to the point where their eyes met. The girl snapped out of her trance and looked around, confused as to where she was for a moment before looked at Lena and grasping her around the waist.

Lena, not prepared for the hug, stumbled backwards slightly, but used the towel holder to sturdy her legs before wrapping her arms around the frightened girl who seemed to have a death grip on her. "You're ok. I'm here. You're alright." Lena cooed into Mariana's ear before pulling her back away from her body. "Come on. We're gonna get you into some clothes." She told her daughter and guided her out of the room.

As they exited the bathroom, Lena directed Mariana into the small walk-in closet that was located directly next to the bathroom. She handed the clothes she had grabbed for her daughter earlier to Mariana and gently asked "Can you put these on yourself?" The girl nodded and reached out a shaky hand to grasp the clothes. "Good girl. I'm gonna wait on my bed for you, alright?" Another nod indicated that Lena could leave and she turned to walk back to her phone.

_Shit!_ Lena thought to herself as she saw her phone light up indicating that she had a missed call. She picked it up and saw that it was from Stef. Looking back at the closet, Lena dialed her wife's number and put the phone up to her ear. "Stef?"

"Everything alright?" Stef didn't have the strength to make small talk at the moment.

"Nope." Lena said bluntly.

"Babe I am just leaving, ok? We'll be home in less that 10 minutes, alright?"

Lena sighed into the phone. "Ok." She replied simply.

"Love you"

"Love you"

Lena let the phone slip out of her hands and she sat down on her bed, her head in her hands. _I can't do this. I can't take anything else._ She thought to herself. Sensing another presence, she lifted her head and saw Mariana standing only a foot out of the closet with a blank stare.

"There's my girl." Lena said, standing up to usher the girl to the bed. After Lena watched her daughter get on the bed, she climbed on herself and before her head could hit the pillow, Mariana flung her body on top of Lena's body; her arms wrapping around her mother's stomach and her head on her mother's chest. "Oh baby" Lena whispered as she wrapped her own arms around the girl and held her tightly. She knew they had to talk, but right now, all she wanted to do was hold all of her children and her wife and never let them go. Lena closed her eyes and prayed that Stef would be home soon.

* * *

"Thanks again for picking me up, Mike." Mike had picked up right away when Stef called him and was close by the hospital. He was able to pick her up tight away. They had only been in the car for five minutes and Stef had thanked him over 10 times.

"It's fine, Stef" he promised once again as he turned into the Fosters' neighborhood. Mike's notorious speeding, being a cop it came when he was stressed and on edge, allowed them to reach their destination quickly. As they pulled into the driveway, Stef barely waited until the car came to a complete stop before she had her hand on the door to open it. "Thanks again" she said over her shoulder as she ran into the house.


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry for the delay. I had a hard time writing this chapter. I am a little stuck at this point, but really want to continue this story. So if any of you have ideas or suggestions, please please please send it in a review or private message. Thanks! **

**Peace, Love, June 16th.**

Stef got to the door and mentally prepared herself for what she was to walk into. Turning the knob, Stef opened the door and walked in. She heard silence-which on a normal day, would mean trouble, but today, she hoped the lack of noise meant relaxing children- and wife. She carefully shrugged her purse off of her good shoulder and walked further into the house. Immediately to her left, she saw her oldest son fast asleep on the couch. As she walked into the room, she noticed the television was still on, so she reached over and turned it off, then walked over to Brandon. She smiled at his peaceful state, grabbed a spare blanket, and tucked it in around him. Finally, she kissed his temple before heading towards the stairs, which she assumed was where she would find the rest of her family.

As Stef reached the top step, she could hear the faint sound of her wife's voice. She followed the sound to her bedroom and quietly opened the door to see both her wife and daughter on the bed, the younger one clinging to the older one for dear life, and the older one trying desperately to sooth her.

Mariana's head snapped up when she heard the door open and her eyes met Stef's. Stef's heart broke when she saw the sheer panic in her daughter's eyes and quickly walked over to the side of Mariana that wasn't occupied by her wife. Mariana, much like earlier, flung herself across Stef's body and a new batch of tears flowed out, quickly staining her mother's shirt.

"Oh baby girl. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't here with you." Stef said as she rubbed soothing circles on her daughter's back. She looked at Lena for any implication of why their daughter was so distraught, but Lena shook her head, unsure of how to explain it to her at the moment.

Suddenly, Marianna looked up and asked "Is Callie ok?" Her voice so small Stef and Lena had to lean in to hear her.

"She's gonna be all right, baby" Stef said carefully, though she was slightly taken back by the question. Mariana wasn't in any way a rude child, but she didn't exactly take the focus off of herself if possible. She was their little diva, but had just shown extreme selflessness about the girl who just a short while ago had been thrown into her room, into her school, and into her life. Stef's heart lifted, despite the current situation.

"That's good." Mariana replied, putting her head back into her mother's shirt. "I'm sorry I'm such a baby" she said, again her voice very soft.

This time, Lena spoke up, "you are not a baby! You were scared. What happened was scary and you didn't know what was happening to mom or Jesus or Callie."

"I guess. I just thought…" Mariana began to explain, when she heard a loud bang followed by rumbling. Before Lena or Stef could register what happened, Mariana was off of the bed and had sprinted into the closet.

Jesus ran into the room, eyes wide with fear and guilt. "I'm so sorry, moms. I was trying to get something off the top of my drawers for Mariana to help her feel better and I slipped."" He hung his head as he finished his confession.

Both moms stared at their son, speechless. They knew it was an accident, but he could have very well triggered something in their daughter that would take a while to iron out.

Stef sighed, trying to hide her frustration as she got up off of the bed and walked towards her son. Lena quickly mirrored her movements, but went to the closet.

"It's ok, honey." She said. "Are you ok? Did anything fall on you?" Stef asked with a motherly tone.

Jesus shrugged his shoulders. "Nah. I'm fine" he responded, head still looking at the floor.

"Hey" Stef said, lifting his head up. "She's gonna be ok. They both are." Stef knew Jesus was worried, he just seemed to have really bad timing, which was not his fault, just unfortunate.

Jesus nodded as Stef continued. "Why don't you go wake your brother up and make mama and your sister something to eat. I'm sure they haven't eaten in a while." She smiled at him and patted his shoulder indicating he could leave.

Stef sighed as she closed the doors behind him. _That kid and his timing. _ Stef thought to herself. She took in another breath as she made her way towards the closet. She heard sobs and a quiet voice as she entered the doorway. Realizing where her daughter ended up, she knelt down, and crawled on her hands and knees to the girl who was in the corner, as far back as possible, knees pulled up to her chest, rocking back and forth, and sobbing uncontrollably. Lena was attempting to calm her down, but tears were sliding down her cheeks as well.

"Sweets." Stef started, calmly as she continued to inch her way into the closet. "Love. It was Jesus." Mariana's head snapped up and the color left her face at her mother's words. Stef mentally kicked herself for her choice of words. "No, baby. No he's not hurt. He accidently knocked down his dresser. Everyone is ok." Stef said, as she reached over to her now paralyzed-looking child. "Mari, love. Look at mommy." When she got no response from the girl, she pulled her into her lap and rocked her, looking up at Lena for help.

Lena crawled out from under the clothes and stood up. "I'll be right back." She said plainly and continued to walk.

Stef's forehead crinkled in confusion, but the girl in her arms pulled her back into reality and she focused her attention on her. "Mari, love. You're alright. I promise. Mommy is right here. I've got you." Come on, baby. You're ok" Stef wasn't sure if a crying Mariana was worse, or if this silent one was. Stef felt completely useless, as she couldn't seem to do anything to help her daughter.

Finally, after a minute, Stef decided that she needed to take charge of the situation. She pulled Mariana's face towards hers and spoke gently. "Love, I need you to get up and follow me to my bed, alright?" Sighing at the continued trance, she pushed Mariana gently off of her lap, wincing as she used her bad arm slightly, and stood up. She turned around and reached her hand down to help Mariana up. Much to Stef's surprise, Mariana grabbed the hand and allowed Stef to pull her up. "That's my girl" Stef praised and smiled while they walked together out of the closet and into the main section of the bedroom. "Come on, baby." Stef coaxed as she led her to her bed, pulled down the corner of the covers, and guided her onto the bed. She slid in next to her daughter and covered both of them. Mariana instinctively curled herself into her mother's side and squeezed her eyes shut, hoping to block out everything from her mind.

* * *

Lena sighed in frustration as she continued sifting through a giant box that was located in the basement. _I know it's in here._ She thought to herself as she dug further. Suddenly, her hand felt something soft and she pulled it out and smiled. She hoped that this would soothe her daughter at least enough to get her to talk. Lena stood up, put the lid back on the bin and turned to walk back upstairs, when she ran into Brandon.

"Hey, B." She said, trying to sound enthusiastic, but failing.

"How are you?" Brandon asked, completely aware of the state his mom must be in.

"I'm ok. Taking this up to Mariana. Hopefully it will get her to relax." She said, holding up the item in her hand.

"Her blanket?" Brandon asked in a surprised tone. "She hasn't needed that since she was like 9."

"I know. But it always helped when she was younger, and I'm running out of ideas." She replied, looking down at the blanket.

Brandon put a hand on her shoulder. "It's a great idea." He stated and smiled at the exhausted woman.

Lena smiled back and turned to continue up the stairs when Brandon's voice caused her to stop and turn around once more. "Uhhh when are Callie and mom getting back?"

"Uhh hun. Well mom just got here and Callie is still at the hospital."

"You guys left her there?"

"Mom said there was some reason why she was allowed to leave for an hour or so, I'm not really sure but we are going back as soon as we can get things figured out here." Lena said, trying not to make it sound like they just left the girl.

"Oh. Ok, I guess." Brandon replied. "Can I see mom?" He asked only because he had a feeling something was going on if his mom took the risk of leaving Callie even for a little while.

"Uhh maybe not right now ok, bud? We're trying to figure things out with your sister."

Brandon nodded "well maybe I'll find Jesus and keep him busy. I'm sure he's going stir crazy by now."

Lena's eyebrow went up as she wondered if Brandon had heard the crash. "Yeah. That would be great. He's in his room" Lena finished and turned to walk up she stairs, with Brandon right behind her.

As soon as Lena walked into the room, the silence engulfed her. She didn't hear anything besides the even breathing of her daughter as she slept, and the whispering of her wife. Stef had her back propped up on two pillows and Mariana had wedged herself in under her mother's side. Stef's hand gently made its way up and back down her back and she continued to whisper soothing words that were meant for her daughter, but actually relaxed both of them.

Lena's hand brushed her shirt as she rested it over her heart. She knew this was far from over, but she also knew that right now, Mariana needed to sleep. She needed both moms with her and she needed to relax. Quietly, as to not wake the teenager, Lena approached the bed and carefully pulled down the covers, slipped under them, and pulled them back over her body. Before saying a word to Stef, she pulled the blanket out from under the covers and draped it over her daughter's shoulder. And as if she knew what it was, Mariana grabbed the fabric and tucked it into her chest.

"Where did you find that?" Stef whispered, nudging her head at the blanket.

"Basement" Lena answered, not wanting to talk too much.

"We need to talk, but not here." Stef simply stated, knowing that she and her wife needed to update one another, but did not want to do it with their daughter in the room.

"Wait until she is in a deeper sleep, then we can go into the bathroom. I don't want her out of my sight in case she wakes up" Lena whispered back and Stef nodded, both looking down at the girl who was still in slumber.

* * *

"Dude. You're gonna rot your brain out if you keep playing that game like it's your job" Brandon informed his brother as he walked into the room, a hint of satire in his voice.

"You are never gonna make it in the real world with your good boy attitude" Jesus replied, not looking up from the game.

Brandon knew he was right. After all, that was the reason he let Talia drag him to that party. And now his little brother confirmed it. _That's it. _He thought. _I'm done with this stupid shit._

The boys sat in silence as Jesus tried to concentrate on his game and Brandon tried to concentrate on the hem of his jeans. Finally, Brandon broke the silence. "So, how is Mariana?"

Jesus paused his game and swiveled in his chair to face his brother. His leg was bouncing at such a rapid pace that it almost made Brandon nauseous just looking at it. "I dono if she would want me to tell you, but she has been through a shooting before. When we were little." Brandon's eyes widened as he tried to imagine his twin siblings before they were adopted. "Uhh yeah. I think she should tell you the rest, if she wants, but yeah she didn't take it well. So maybe I think this is bringing back old memories? I dono really." He shrugged and turned back to his game, his leg still bouncing up and down feverously.

Brandon's head was spinning. It was hard enough to go through one shooting but two? Even though Mariana wasn't the actual one in the shooting, the experience must have brought back some pretty terrible memories. He knew in his head that he should stay to help out his moms and sister, but the haunting words of 'good boy' crept into his mind; clouding all better judgment.

"Alright." Bandon said, sensing the lack of conversation that would be had between the two brothers. " I'ma go." He stood up and looked at Jesus whose knee was still bouncing, but his hands and mind were still on the game.

Brandon made a beeline for his room and shut the door quietly behind him. He grabbed his phone and began to form a text to the one person who he knew would help him get rid of his 'good boy' rep: Vico. The boy was 215 pounds of muscle, angst and pigheadedness, but Brandon knew that Vico would jump at the chance to help the vice principal's son get into trouble. Before pressing send, he looked down at his text. He sighed as he loked up in the direction of his moms and his siblings. He didn't want to give them more trouble, but he felt the need to clean up- or rather dirty up his reputation was vital. _Plus. _He thought to himself. _They will be focusing on everyone else and won't notice._ And he pushed send.

**So yeah. Not really sure where to go from here. Should Callie wake up alone? Or should someone she ****wasn't expecting be there? What should Brandon do? Should Mariana open up? Or fall into a PTSD mode? Please let me know what you think!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey! Thanks for anyone who is still reading this!**

**I had a hard time deciding what to do with this chapter and am still debating what to continue with. **

**That being said, PLEASE send me reviews or PM me with suggestions or anything. **

**I don't know if people are reading this, so if you are, if you could follow or favorite or review, it would give me a better guess of how many, if anyone, is actually reading. **

**On a very happy note, we've reached 50 reviews! Thank you so much to all of you who reviewed and said all of those wonderful things. Your reviews make me want to keep writing. **

**Thanks for reading that crazy AN. =] Peace. Love. June 16th!**

Lena nodded her head to her wife, indicating she wanted to talk to her. Stef slowly untangled herself from her daughter. She didn't think Marina would wake up; she had been in a deep sleep for over a half hour, but Stef didn't want to startle her in any way. As Stef slipped her arm out from under her daughter, Mariana began to stir, but it subsided when Stef placed her hand on her daughter's forehead for a couple of seconds.

The women quietly walked into their bathroom, mindful to keep the door wide open so they could see Mariana as she slept. Lena released an overdue sigh and grabbed her wife's hands. Stef pulled her wife into her arms and the two stood there for a while, simply relishing in the fact that it was silent and that they had each other, finally. Stef finally pulled away and looked Lena in the eyes. "What happened?"

Lena took another deep breath as she proceeded to tell Stef about what had happened to Mariana and Jesus when they were younger, and how the shooting must have triggered something in Mariana's head. Stef's hand never left her mouth. She had no idea that her babies had been through such a terrible event before, much less at such a young age. "How is Jesus?" Stef wondered.

"He cried when he told me, but from the way it sounds, he didn't see anything" both women's eyes trailed to their sleeping daughter. "But Mariana saw the entire thing."

"My baby" Stef couldn't form any other phrase. She was angry that her daughter had to go through that not only once, but twice. She thought back to how Mariana had acted at the hospital and everything clicked; she was afraid she was going to loose another parent. Stef's heart ached for her daughter.

"What is happening with Callie?" Lena suddenly asked, almost forgetting about Stef's unusual statement regarding her leaving the girl at the hospital.

"Oh. She was given a sedative that lasts a couple of hours to help her body relax so it can heal. She had two panic attacks while I was there. I just wanted to pick her up and rock her in my arms" Stef said, defeated.

"I know, love" Lena said. "I did too. But you know what?" Lena lifted Stef's fallen head up. "She is gonna be ok. And so is Mariana. We all are."

"So what do we do? Where do we start?" Stef asked. The almost child-like tone was unusual for Stef- she was usually the one to take charge. Lena knew her wife's head was running about a mile a minute and she needed to take charge if anything productive were to get done.

"Ok. Well how long has it been since you left Callie?" Lena asked. That would indicate how much more time Stef had at home; though she didn't altogether like the situation of leaving Callie at all, she knew Stef needed to help here.

"Almost an hour."

"Alright. So why don't you stay with Mariana for like a half hour while I make some phone calls and figure some things out" Bill's message floated through her head, but she didn't want to tell Stef about it, at least not until she had more concrete information. "And then we can all drive back to the hospital." Lena finished and looked at Stef.

"What if… what if Mariana…" Stef didn't know how to phrase her thoughts, but Lena knew her all too well and understood.

"Then Brandon will drive you and Jesus there and I will stay with her until she's ready and we'll meet you there." Lena finished. She knew it wasn't the greatest plan, but it would have to do for the time being.

"Alright" Stef replied and turned to walk back to her daughter. She knew she needed to sleep, but she also knew she needed to talk to them. _I'll play it by ear._ Stef thought to herself as Lena walked out the door, leaving her alone with her sleeping daughter.

Stef slowly climbed onto the bed and situated herself in as close to the same position she was before. Mariana jolted at the movement, but Stef reached over, grabbed her side, and pulled her into her own body, causing the girl to become calm with the familiarity of her mother, and drifted back to sleep.

* * *

Brandon looked down at his phone as it buzzed, indicating an incoming call. He knew who it was and quickly picked up the phone and ran downstairs. He didn't want anyone hearing his conversation. Finally, once he was outside t the end of the driveway, he clicked accept and put his phone to his ear.

"So. Little Miss goodie two shoes wants to play a little dirty, huh?" Brandon could hear the mockery in his voice, but he gritted his teeth and responded. "Yeah. I'm sick and tired of all the crap I am getting. And you were the first person I could think of to I dono ask for help."

Vico laughed and Brandon bit his tongue. He knew that if he wanted Vico's help, he was going to have to play by his rules. "Well. For starters, let's lay down some ground rules. One. Nothing gets to the VP or your other mom. Got it?"

Brandon knew that was going to be a rule and he responded with a yes.

"Second. You listen to what I say and you do what I say. No wussing out at the last second." Brandon mumbled an ok as Vico continued. "Third. I do not in any way get in any trouble for anything you do or say."

Brandon thought for a moment about what he was doing. He knew deep down that he was being stupid, but as the voice continued on the other end of the phone, he began to think back to all of the times when he was teased or made fun of for being the smart kid who played piano and who always did his homework early and whose mom was the vice principal of the school. "Yup. I got it."

* * *

Lena's pace quickened as she ran her fingers through her curly hair and mumbled to herself. She was trying to put everything into perspective in a timely manner and come up with a way to deal with all of it. She sighed in frustration, realizing that it couldn't all be figured out at the moment and turned to the sink. She grabbed some of the dirty dishes and began to scrub them. Lena tended to keep herself busy in stressful situations.

The sound of the front door opening and then shutting knocked her out of her thoughts. She put the dish down and turned to see who had opened the door. She saw Brandon standing with his back and head pushed against the door, his phone clutched in his hand. "B?" Lena called out, which caused the teen to jump. "I'm sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."

"Uhh no it's alright. Uhh how is Mariana?" Brandon quickly answered, looking anywhere but into Lena's eyes.

"She's sleeping at the moment. Everything alright?" She walked towards her son and the bruise around his eye became clearer. "You still haven't told us what happened to your eye." She raised her eyebrow and folded her arms.

Brandon's hands found the hem of his shirt as his feet shuffled back and forth. "Uhhh I mean I told mom. It was something stupid. Nothin' important. Promise." He said, looking up at Lena with a smile plastered on his face.

Lena knew there was something more to the story, but decided that on her mental list of things to worry about, this was not the top one, and dropped it for the time being. "Alright. Well later, you can try the truth. But now I need you to tell Jesus to get himself ready to go. We're all going back to the hospital for a little while, alright?"

Brandon nodded and quickly started up the stairs. Lena sighed in defeat. She felt like she couldn't help any of her children and it tore her up inside. Lena checked her watch and headed back upstairs. She knew that they should get into the car sooner rather than later, and that meant they needed to wake up Mariana sooner rather than later.

As Lena approached the door, she leaned her ear until it rested against the door and listened for any indication of interaction, but heard none and slowly turned the handle. Not to her surprise, she found Stef's arms wrapped around her daughter, and Mariana's head buried into her wife's chest.; both breathing evenly. Lena hated to wake them up, but she didn't know how Mariana would react if she woke up to her being gone, so she walked over to the bed and gently put a hand on Stef's shoulder. She woke instantly and turned her head to see who had touched her. She smiled at Lena and they both looked down. "I hate to wake her." Stef whispered.

Lena nodded in agreement. "I know, me too. But we have to. We have to see where she is right now." Stef nodded and began to slip her arm out from under her daughter as Lena climbed onto the other side of the bed. Once Stef's good arm was free, she and Lena dragged their nails softly over the girl's arms, coaxing her to wake up without startling her.

"Come on, baby. Wake up." Lena said as she continued up and down Mariana's arm.

"You're ok. It's me and mama, love. Wake up." Stef spoke next. She moved her hand to her daughter's face and pushed her hair back, using her thumb to gently rub her temples.

Mariana stirred and shook her head back and forth a couple of times before opening her eyes. _Where am I?_ She thought to herself. Then the memories came flooding back and she quickly sat up.

"Baby. Look at me. You're alright. Nothing is gonna happen. We are both here." Stef said as she put a firm hand on Mariana's leg.

Mariana looked back and forth between her mothers and all she could do was cry. She cried because she was happy that she had both moms with her. She cried because her mom and foster sister got shot. She cried because her father got shot and died. She cried because Callie was still in the hospital. She cried because she could have lost her mom. She cried because she was tired. Her body shook as one sob followed the other. Lena took ahold of her and pulled her into her body, stroking the girl's hair and whispering soothing words into her ear.

Stef looked down at her watch. _Shit._ She needed to get back to Callie and she stood up. At the shift of the bed, Mariana pulled away from Lena and her face fell. "Where are you going?" Finally finding her voice, she spoke. It was small, but it was there.

"Baby. I have to go be with Callie. I'm so sorry. But mama is gonna stay with you until you are ready to come visit too. Ok? I know you are worried about Callie." Stef cupped her daughter's chin in her hands and kissed her on the forehead. "You worry about you. Ok? Callie is gonna be alright." Stef reluctantly pulled her hand away from her daughter's face, but before she could fully pull her hand back, Mariana grabbed it.

"Wait. I wanna go now." Her voice was stronger and her words seemed certain. Stef looked at Lena and then looked at her daughter. Her eyes were struggling to remain open, her eyes were puffy and red, her face was pale, and her cheeks were stained with tears.

"Baby." Stef began, sitting back down on the bed. "I know you do. But right now, I think you need to stay here with mama and take a little time for yourself. I promise you can come visit, but mama will take you a little bit later, alright?" Stef looked into her daughter's eyes as she spoke.

Mariana knew that her mom was right, and she would have protested, but exhaustion was taking over, so she nodded and fell back into Lena's arms.

Stef stood back up and walked around to the side of the bed that her wife and child were, leaned down, kissed Mariana on the head, and her wife on the lips. "Call if you need anything."

"You too."

"I love both of you."

Lena looked down to see Mariana asleep once more and looked back up. "We love you too."

* * *

Jesus had stopped paying attention to his game a while ago. His high score fluttered down as his mind wandered to his sister and father. He wished more than anything that he could have switched places with his twin on that day. He didn't know exactly what she went through; she never talked about it. He wanted to assure her that she could open up to him, but she always just smiled and shook it off.

To be honest, Jesus hadn't dwelled on the event until recently. But he knew whatever he was going through, Mariana was going through it twice as hard. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a light knocking on his door. He looked up and turned as his mom opened the door fully and walked in. He expression changed into a soft worry and she looked at Jesus with concern. "What's wrong, honey?" Stef walked further into the room and sat on the edge of the bed, facing her son.

Jesus furrowed his brow. He didn't know how his mom knew something was bothering him, but as he watched his mom reach over and use her thumb to wipe tears off of his cheeks, he understood. Embarrassed, Jesus stood up and quickly rubbed the remaining tears off of his face. He hated when he cried, especially in front of his mom.

"Sweetie, you don't have to be embarrassed." It baffled him how well his mother knew him. But, he continued to shake his head and push all of his emotions aside.

"Did you need something?"

"Uhhh" Stef stood up quickly, remembering what she was initially doing. "We're going back to the hospital so grab some stuff to keep yourself occupied in the waiting room. And did you take your meds?"

Jesus nodded and grabbed his backpack.

Stef exhaled heavily and left her son to collect his things. She made her way downstairs after checking Brandon's room and finding it empty. "B?" She called into the first floor, loud enough for her voice to reach a fair distance, but quiet enough to not wake her daughter. Brandon came running in through the back door, his phone tightly clutched in his hand, his breathing heavy, and his eyes guilty. Stef knew her son better than anyone else and knew something was wrong. "Brandon. I'm not doing this anymore. You need to tell me what is going on with you."

"Mom I'm…"

"If you say fine, Ima smack you upside the head." Stef said; obviously not a serious threat, but her tone came across without question.

Stef stared at her son as he continued to stay mute. Hearing Jesus coming down the stairs she shook her head. "We're talking about this later. Get your stuff together now. We're leaving." She stated and turned towards the front door.

* * *

Callie's head was spinning once more as she tried to fully wake herself up. _What happened?_ She thought to herself as she tried to move her body but halted as pain filled her. _Shit. What the hell? Why can't I open my eyes?_ She questioned as she struggled to crack open even one eye. Groaning in frustration, she relaxed back into the pillow for but a moment before she heard voices around her. Callie used all of her strength to open her eyes, but was still paralyzed for the time, so she settled for listening.

"Should be coming out of it soon…"

"Will be here?"

"Haven't seen anyone…"

"I'll check the waiting room."

As the footsteps of the nurses left the room, Callie tried to put together what the voices were saying but the little information she had to work with, nothing came together that made sense. Using all of the energy she had left, she pried her eyes open and a blast of a bright light hit her pupils. _Damn it!_ Callie swore as she squinted her eyes as they adjusted to the bright light.

Suddenly remembering fully what had happened, she mustered up some newly found energy and turned her head towards the chair that Stef had been sitting in earlier. Callie's brow furrowed as she scanned the empty chair. Her eyes surveyed the room slowly, as to subside the pain, but found the pain in her heart was worse: _They left._ Callie's eyes closed and her thoughts flooded her head once more. _I don't blame them. I'm a disappointment and disgusting. I can't believe I ever thought that they would stay._ Callie had been left at a hospital once before by one of her early foster families. She knew what would happen. Bill would come, he would give her the look of sympathy, and then he would take her to a new home where the cycle would start once again.

_No. I'm done with this. _Callie thought to herself and she opened her eyes once more to a still empty room. She looked at the machines hooked up to her and grabbed as many wires as possible in one hand. She thought about Jude- how he must be in a great place and that she had saved him. She was able to finally do something right. As she felt a tear slip from her eye, she gripped the mass of wires as tight as she could and pulled them away from her body.

Monitors began beeping at rapid paces and Callie welcomed the darkness as she shut her eyes and held her breath.

**Please review! And have a great day! =]**


	15. Chapter 15

**Wow. That was a difficult chapter to write. I still think it could be better, but I have kept you waiting for a while now. So if you have any suggestions of comments, pleaseeeee let me know! **

**Also, thank you thank you thank you for all of the reviews! They are truly heart-warming and make me so happy. **

**Peace, Love, June 16th**

"She's coding!" A nurse yelled to a nearby doctor as she ran through out of Callie's room. Several doctors were now at attention and made their way towards the room. Stef, Brandon and Jesus walked into the waiting room just as the mass of doctors began their journey to the girl's room. Stef felt something in the pit of her stomach and ran to her daughter's door, closely followed by her sons.

"Ma'am." A nurse called out to her, but Stef didn't stop. "Ma'am you can't go in there right now. Let the doctors work."

When Stef still didn't respond, Brandon grabbed one of her arms, and Jesus followed with the other. They gently held her back as if she were a child. "Mom. Come on. She's gonna be ok." Brandon told his mom as the two boys turned her around and started walking her back to the waiting room chairs. Once they forced her to sit down, her eyes met theirs and tears began to form. "I'm sorry" she simply stated. _I cannot loose it in front of my kids. _Stef thought to herself as she shook her head and tried to forget how she acted like a child in front of her boys.

"It's ok, mom" Jesus responded. "She's gonna be alright."

Not knowing what else to say, Jesus sat down next to his mom and pulled out his phone. Brandon followed in suit, and Stef stared at her feet; not knowing what was happening and not knowing how to help was killing her inside.

* * *

"Who took these out?" a doctor yelled as he grabbed the wires that dangled from the machines, now detached from the patient.

"I think she did" a nurse responded with a sad voice and sad eyes to match.

"What the hell?" The doctor muttered to himself as he tried to assess the girl while nurses began to reattach the wires to Callie. A stethoscope was placed at Callie's chest and it was soon announced to the room that there was a pulse but that she was not breathing.

"How is that possible?" One of the nurses asked.

"She's holding her breath."

Callie felt warm as her head began to clear. She could see a warm, welcoming light in the distance and smiled. For the first time in a while, she threw caution to the wind and began towards it. However, it seemed as each step she took, the light moved further back. _No!_ Callie shouted to herself as she tried to pick up her pace, but stopped when she found it hard to breathe. In attempt to continue towards her destination, she inhaled deeply.

"Breathing!" a nurse reported, as they continued to work on the machines.

Callie felt herself falling out of the dream-like state and the sounds of reality hit her again. _No! I don't wanna go back!_ Callie's head spun as her eyes rolled to the back of her head.

"She's lost consciousness!"

Callie was again welcomed by darkness, but this time, there was no light in the distance. It was completely dark and Callie shuttered at her surroundings. She had no idea where she was, and had no idea if she was safe.

* * *

"Mama! No! Please you can't!" Mariana thrashed back in forth on the bed, startling a sleeping Lena who was just inches away.

"Mari, love" Lena started gently, putting her hand on the girl's arm, "baby it's ok. You're ok. I'm right here."

"Please no! Please he didn't do it! No!"

Lena sat up and put both hands on her daughter's shoulders and shook her gently. "Mariana. Sweetie wake up. You're ok!"

Suddenly, the young girl's eyes flew open as she began to gasp for air. Unable to attain enough, she began to wheeze as she tried to sit up.

"Ok. Ok, love. You're ok. Come on" Lena helped her daughter into a sitting position and rubbed her back as she continued talking to the girl who was still not taking in enough oxygen. "Baby, look at mama. I need you to calm down and breathe for me, ok? Can you do that?" Mariana nodded slightly through her hazy eyes and tried to do as she was asked. "Baby, look here." Lena demanded as she pulled her daughter's face towards hers. She didn't mean to be forceful in any way, but the lack of breathing was beginning to frighten her. "Follow my breaths. You are safe. Come on, love."

Finally, still fixated in her trance, Mariana began to breathe at an even pace. Lena took her hands into her own and kissed them gently. "Good girl." She praised. "Mari"

Mariana continued to stare off into space. Her mother heard nothing pass her lips, but the thoughts in her head didn't stop. _He shot him! He just shot my dad! He didn't do it! No I mean I know it seemed like it, but it really wasn't his fault. He was drunk. It wasn't his fault. He didn't deserve that! I wasn't gonna tell anyone! Why? _

Lena looked at her daughter, tears filling her eyes as she tried to think of someway to help sooth her.

_Mom? No! MOM! She can't. This can't be happening again! Where's Jesus? JESUS! Where are you? How is he not here? What happened to him? Where did he go? Why did he go without me? Wait! Callie? No wait no! It's not fair. It can't. NO! MOM!_

Mariana's head was pounding and she broke her trance to throw her hands to the sides of her head and rock herself back and forth. Lena pulled her broken daughter into her arms and took over the rocking motion, slowly pulling Mariana's hands away from her head. "Shhh baby. You're ok. You're safe. We are all safe."

* * *

Callie was only in the pitch-black darkness for a couple of seconds until she felt a surge of energy sting her body. _Damn it! What the hell?_ She thought as bright lights started to focus; however, these weren't the same calming and welcoming lights. They were harsh lights accompanied by beeping, shuffling, and talking.

"We got her back."

_Uhhh my head. _Callie thought to herself as she tried to put her hand to her head but realized it was being held down by something. _What the hell?_ Callie then tried to open her eyes, which proved to be a very difficult task for her. Finally, after trying to open her eyes with no success, she tried her mouth. _I've gotta be able to squeak something out._ She thought as she pushed anything possible into her vocal chords. A small but very real moan escaped from her dry lips and was noticed by a nurse.

"Callie? Can you hear me?"

Callie tried once more to open her eyes, but they seemed to be glued shut. Suddenly, she felt an eyelid being lifted off of one of her eyes and light hit her eye in a matter of seconds. This elicited another grunt and the nurse reported to the doctor. "We've got steady and even pupils and she is trying to speak."

"Callie?" This time, it was an older man's voice. "Callie if you can hear me, could you move your fingers for me?"

Callie was exhausted, but she knew she needed to get someone to believe that she was still there, so she pushed all of her energy into her right pinky muscle and moved it.

"Great job, Callie! Now, I am going to give you some more morphine, and that should help you to open your eyes and begin to speak. Take your time, alright?"

All Callie could manage at the moment was a slight grunt and the doctor smiled down at her.

"Angela, would you please try and find her parents? I'm not sure if they were in the waiting room."

Angela smiled and walked towards the door. She was glad that she got to know Stef before she left; it would make it easier to calm her since she knew her. Angela pushed the door open and took the short walk to the waiting room. There she saw Stef's head back against the wall. She slowly walked up to the woman and shook her shoulder slightly.

Stef awoke with panic on her face and questions spilled out. "What happened? Is she ok? Why can't I see her? Did something go wrong in surgery? Will she need another surgery?"

"Mom" Brandon walked behind his mother and put a hand on her shoulder, causing her to spin around. "Let her talk."

Stef turned back to face Angela with read cheeks. _Damn it! I have to stop that! I am the adult here._ She scolded herself as she began to speak once more. "I'm sorry. What did you want to tell me?"

"It's perfectly alright. Callie is stable and is slowly regaining consciousness."

Stef furrowed her brow, "why did she loose consciousness in the first place?"

Angela looked from Stef to her son and the other boy who Angela assumed was her other child, due to the intense look on his face. "Uhh we need to talk to you about some things, maybe when Lena gets here. But for now…" She started but Stef jumped in.

"I don't know when my wife will be able to get here. Could you tell me now? I promise to fill her in, but I need something. Please."

Angela looked at the pancaking mother's face and nodded slightly. However, she glanced at the young boys, not sure how to tell the woman something that her other children should probably not hear, at the moment.

Stef, knowing how to read people, took the glance as a cue and turned to her sons, "I need you to stay right here in the waiting room, ok?"

Both boys looked at her and nodded, knowing full well that they needed to listen to her every word. Although they desperately wanted to know what was happening, they knew it was vital for their mother to know first.

Stef turned back around and Angela smiled slightly. "We can talk in here." Angela led her into an empty room with a table fixated in the middle surrounded by many chairs. "I'm going to get Dr. Arnold, I'll be right back."

Stef nodded and waited for Angela to shut the door behind her before she let her head fall into her hands and tears fall onto the table beneath her. Stef knew something bad had happened and the longer she waited, the longer she had to think about all of the terrible things that could have happened; and her heart broke with each passing second.

* * *

"I really am sorry." Brandon stated to his brother as they both sat in chairs with their gazes fixed on the door their mother went into.

"I know" He replied.

Both boys didn't look at one another, but they had an understanding. Jesus knew Brandon didn't mean what he said earlier, that he was scared about his mom. And Brandon knew that Jesus was just trying to protect his twin. They were both frightened about the situation at hand and also knew they needed to stick together in order to get through the tornado of events that seemed to have fallen on their family.

As both brothers sat in silence, they thought about everything that had happened; and with Mariana and Callie's state of minds, their mothers would have to devote almost all of their time to them. But they also recognized that they could help, and that is exactly what they planned on doing.

* * *

"Sorry for keeping you. I'm Dr. Arnold" A short man hurriedly walked into the room Stef had been occupying and reached out his hand. Stef quickly shook it and looked into his eyes; wanting answers. "Well, Callie woke up a short while before you arrived. I know I told you it was alright for you to leave and come back, so please don't put any sort of blame on yourself. She awoke and managed to pull out all of the wires that were vital to her well-being."

Stef could only stare at the man. _Why would she do that?_

The silence pushed the doctor to continue. "She removed the wires in her hands, arms, and one that we had in her abdomen. She had a heart beat, but she held her breath." Dr. Arnold stopped for a moment to watch the mother in front of him whose hand was covering her mouth and her eyes were wide. "However, the sudden change threw her body into shock and she lost consciousness, which caused her body to accept the oxygen once more."

Angela quietly raised her hand to the doctor and looked at Stef. "Are you ok? Do you need time to process?"

"Is there more?" Stef could barely get the question out.

"Well. She coded shortly after regaining consciousness, but she is alright now. She is resting."

"How? I mean why… why did she… did she code?" Stef tried to make her thoughts into understandable sentences.

Dr. Arnold sighed deeply and looked at Stef. "I believe she was trying to end her life." He said quietly with a look of remorse on his face. He hated situations like this, especially in young children. His gaze moved to Angela who had tears in her eyes as well. He cleared his throat, which got the attention of both women. "I'm so sorry, but that is all I have for you right now. Please take as much time as you need and if there is anything we can do, please don't hesitate to ask. I'm gonna check on Callie." Before he reached the door, he reached out and put a hand on Stef's shoulder and gave is a gentle squeeze.

Angela looked at the frozen mother who remained sitting in the chair. She wished she knew what the best thing to do for her was, but she hardly knew Stef. So she pulled out a chair and sat down in it; allowing herself to be facing Stef, but with a comfortable distance between the two.

Stef's head whirled as she tried to process the information. _She held her breath?_ Stef couldn't get the doctor's words out of her head. _She pulled out the wires that were helping her stay alive?_ Stef felt dizzy. _She was trying to end her life?_ With that last thought, Stef leaned over and vomited. Angela calmly got the garbage can that was near the door and put it in font of the woman's chair just in time to catch the second wave of vomit. Angela didn't know if Stef would want her to stay or leave, so Angela did what her gut told her; she sat behind the woman and rested her hand on Stef's shoulder. Stef instantly felt the touch and her stomach settled slightly; but only slightly.

**Thanks for continuing to read! **

**Once again, I ask that you please review with suggestions of where I should take this story. I would truly appreciate it!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Alright. So so so so so sorry for the delay but I have been having serious writer's block. I could really really reallyyyy use some suggestions or input as to where things should go next or if I should even continue. **

**Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you are enjoying the story!**

"Mariana. I need you to look at mama. Please." Lena had been rocking her daughter for almost 15 minutes now, trying to get the girl to relax long enough to talk. "Love, you're scaring me." She pleaded and tried to capture the distant gaze in her daughter's eyes. "Mari." Lena felt her voice shake and tears begin to pool. "Mari I'm trying to help you baby, but I can't if you don't talk to me. Please, sweetie I don't know how to help you. Baby, come on. Mamas right here. I'm not going to let anything hurt you."

Lena's voice somehow made it through the haziness of Mariana's thoughts. Although she couldn't make out the exact words, she could hear that her mother was speaking to her, and she began to calm down. After a few moments, the words became clear and she realized her mom was crying. Mariana slowly lifted her head up and touched Lena's wet cheek with a single finger. "Mama?"

At the soft touch, Lena's eyes opened and she saw her daughter come back to life. She let a few more happy tears flow out before engulfing her youngest daughter in a hug while kissing her temple. "Oh baby. I'm so sorry."

Mariana didn't know what to say, so she let her mom just hold her. Part of her thought she was too big to be held by her mother, but the bigger part of her knew she needed the close contact. She decided that the bigger half should win and relaxed into the embrace.

* * *

"Thank you." Stef tried to wipe off her mouth and smile at Angela. _I can't believe I just threw up._ She scolded to herself as she tried to stand up, but the wave of dizziness caused her to fall back down into the chair.

"Hold on, Stef" Angela stated as she handed her a cup of water. "Drink this first."

Although Stef didn't care about her needs at the moment, she took the cup and greedily drank every last drop of the water. "Thank you." She again said to the woman who she barely knew, but who was treating her like family.

"What can I do for you to help?"

Stef looked up and smiled at the kind woman. "Uhh can I go see Callie?"

Angela smiled and nodded her head. Stef slowly stood up, thankfully the dizziness had subsided and she was able to walk out of the room. As they passed the waiting room area, Stef noticed her sons hunched over Jesus' computer. She quickly walked to them and told them where she was going. They didn't seem frustrated that they had to wait longer, and Stef smiled to herself. _I have the most amazing children_.

Finally, they reached Callie's room. Stef noted the police officer that resided outside of the door. She swallowed deeply as she knew a police officer was stationed outside a patient's door if he or she was on suicide watch. As Angela peered into the room, she could see that there were no other doctors or nurses, and that Callie was again hooked up to the machines. Angela didn't know if she had fully woken up yet, but opened the door and motioned for Stef to walk in. "I will be right out here at the nurses' desk if you need anything." She said quietly and gave Stef a small smile.

"Thank you. For everything you have done for me and for my family." Stef rested her hand on the woman's shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze, letting her know just how much she appreciated her acts of kindness. Finally, Stef turned towards the inside of the room and walked fully in, quietly shutting the door behind her.

All Stef could hear were the beeping of several machines and the slow breathing of the girl in the bed. She walked over, almost as if in slow motion. She was somewhat afraid of what she would see when she got closer. However, when she finally reached the bed, she saw her Callie girl; lying as if she were sleeping peacefully, and not like she had just tried to take her own life.

Stef's hand flew to her heart as she bent down to kiss the girl ever so softly on the temple. She felt a tear slip out from her eye and quickly wiped it away, never once removing her gaze from the young girl. It took all of her strength not to pick Callie up and hold her in her arms. Her heart broke for the girl. For everything she had been through, for all of the times she had gotten screwed over in life, for all of the terrible things that happened to her that shouldn't even be a thought to a girl of her age. Stef could see clearly that Callie had made her way right into her heart alongside her other children.

* * *

"Mmmm" Callie mumbled as she began to wake herself up.

Stef had fallen asleep in the chair next to the bed, her hands enclosing one of Callie's hands, her head face down on the bed and didn't hear the girl mutter.

"Uhhh" Callie began to gain strength and was able to vocalize slightly louder.

Stef's eyes opened as she not only slightly heard a voice, but also felt something move around her. She lifted her head up and saw the girl in the bed tossing her head back and forth slowly. "Callie? Callie love?"

_Stef?_ Callie thought to herself for a moment before shaking the thought away. _No. She left. They all left. _"Muuhh" Callie managed to get out as she forced her eyes open. They only opened a tiny bit, so just a sliver of light reached her pupils, but it was as if she as getting stronger by the second. As she focused on her own thoughts, she heard that voice again. This time, it sounded closer.

"Callie baby. Sweets, come on. Look at me. You're ok, Callie."

_What the hell?_ Callie's head pounded as she tried to put missing pieces together in her head. _They left._ It was almost like she needed to continue to remind herself of this fact in order to keep herself from finding hope, only to be crushed once more. Trying to ignore the voice, Callie focused on her body and found it much easier to open her eyes and even move her fingers a little.

As she blinked several times to get used to the light, Callie heard the voice once more, though this time it seemed to be coming from right next to her. "Come on, baby." It sounded so much like Stef, but Callie reminded herself that it wasn't possible. Suddenly, Callie felt a cool hand on her forehead. She froze as she let the hand trace the creases of her forehead. Slowly, she turned towards the source of the talking and captured the loving gaze of her foster mother's eyes.

"Stef?" Callie had forgotten to try to remiknd herself that she had left- it seemed too real. "Stef?"

"Yes, baby!" Stef praised as she pushed away a few strands of brown hair from the face below her.

"Stef? But you. But you, you left." Callie's small voice wasn't heard by the woman, so she leaned in closer. "What was that, love?"

"You… when I was… I was here… and when I was… you weren't…" Callie's head was running a mile a minute and she couldn't get a complete sentence out before another thought popped into her head.

"Shhhh. Love, take a deep breath. I need you to breathe for me. That's it. Great job." Stef nodded to Callie as her breathing evened out and she was able to focus once more. "Ok. Now one thing at a time."

Callie looked into the eyes in front of her. They were filled with sadness, but also with love. Those were eyes she hadn't seen in years. "You left." She stated simply and turned her head in an attempt to cover up the tears that began to fall.

Stef's hand flew to her heart as she sucked in a breath. _Damn it! I thought I had time to leave and come back before she woke up. Shit! This is all my fault!_ Stef felt tears of her own begin to slide down her cheeks as she looked down at the young girl who was trying to act like an adult.

"Oh love, I'm so sorry. The doctor told me you would be out for a couple of hours and I needed to see Mariana. But I promise you. I had every intention of getting back here before you woke back up. I'm so sorry that you woke up and no one was here." Stef listened for any response from the girl. Finally, after a minute or so of silence, Callie turned around. Her eyes had obviously been shedding many tears, but she was composed when she looked at Stef.

"I'm sorry."

Stef sighed. _This girl went through hell and back in just a day and she is sorry?_ "Love, why are you sorry?"

"I took you away from your daughter. I'm sorry."

Stef shook her head and leaned in closer. "No, sweets. Lena was with her when I couldn't be and she was here with you when she could. The boys are doing all right helping out one another and Mariana knows she has her moms, even if one of them isn't physically there with her. You are important too, love. I couldn't just leave you. I don't think I could ever leave you."

Callie didn't know how to respond, so she retreated back to her old ways; hiding. She turned her head once more to look away from Stef and closed her eyes. She listened to the steady beeping of the machines and of the soft breathing of the woman sitting next to her.

* * *

"Can you look at me?" Lena had let her daughter calm down for a few minutes before pulling back slightly. Mariana nodded slightly and pushed herself into a sitting position as her eyes gazed upwards. Lena smiled and cupped her daughter's face in her hands. "Thank you, love." A small smile escaped from Mariana's lips as she looked at her mom.

"Love. I need you to promise me that you are going to stay calm. Ok? I will help you, but I also need you to talk to me. I can't help you unless you talk, understand?" Mariana nodded in understanding and Lena continued. "Jesus told me what happened with your dad." She started off with that one sentence and stopped to see how the girl would react. Surprisingly, she just nodded and continued to look in her mother's direction. "He told me that you saw it all happen. I'm so sorry, baby. I wish with all my might I could take those images out of your head. I'm so sorry that you have had to go through all of this alone for so long."

By now, Mariana had begun to tear up, but she quickly wiped them away, wanting to obey her mom and remain calm. She knew she was being a pain and a burden for most of the day and was striving to stop.

"Can you tell me what you're thinking right now, sweetie?" Lena looked at the lowered head of her child and sighed. She knew they had a long road ahead of them. "Mari?"

The girl looked up and opened her mouth to speak. "I feel like a failure and a baby and a crazy psychotic person."

That was not what Lena had expected to come out of her daughter's mouth and the words took her by surprise. "What? Why, love?"

Mariana looked down once more and found the strength to continue talking. "I have been crying all day and taking up all of your time when mom and Callie are actually hurt. I am being stupid for not being able to do anything to help. I wasn't even the one shot and I am acting like a stupid baby. I'm sorry, mama. I'm so sorry for making your life so terrible." Mariana finished and laid her head on Stef's pillow as she faced away from Lena.

"Mariana. Baby. Oh love. You can't think like that." Lena copied the position her daughter was lying in and reached over the girl's body to grasp a small hand. She rubbed the knuckles with her thumb and continued. "Love, you may not have physically been in the shooting, but two people you know and care about were. And it triggered some very scary memories for you that you hadn't yet been able to work out yet. You are in no way being a baby because of that, or for any reason at all."

"But you're stuck here with me while Callie and mom need you."

"You are my child. I am your mother. It is my job to protect you, talk with you, and dry your tears. And that is exactly what I am doing, love. I'm staying with you because you need your mama. I will listen to you talk, scream, cry, anything if that is what you need to get through this."

Mariana didn't know how to respond, so she simply intertwined her fingers with her mother's and sighed.

Feeling the relaxation of her daughter, Lena too relaxed into the bed and waited for whatever Mariana needed to do or say in order for them to continue breaking through this unknown wall of her daughter's past.

**Sorry again for the delay. But I really do need some suggestions on where to take this story, if at all. Thanks so much for reading!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Wow! Almost at 20 chapters! I had no idea I would take this story so far! Thanks for all of the encouraging reviews! **

**Again, and as always, please let me know suggestions, ideas, comments or anything. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Hi grandma"

"Hey Gram"

Brandon and Jesus used their cells to phone their grandparents, realizing that their mothers hadn't had the time to even think about informing their parents.

"So, uh I dono if you know, grandma, but uhhh mom and Callie are in the hospital." Brandon wanted to ease into telling his grandmother that her daughter had been shot. He didn't know how she would react. "No, no grandma. No they are alright. Yeah. No she isn't a patient here anymore, just Callie."

"Mama has been super busy so she hasn't been able to talk to you. No she's fine. But mom and Callie were in an accident and they are at the hospital. We are in the waiting room. No, no gram she's ok. She's with Mariana. Yeah." Jesus struggled to assure Lena's mother that things were being taken care of, and that her daughter had not simply ignored her.

"Yeah, grandma. She will call you. She has been with Callie and Mariana all day and night. But she will." Brandon sighed and looked at his brother.

"Gram, I promise she will call. No, I don't think you… wait. Uhhh I'll tell her to call you right away. No, she's at home. No, with Mariana. Yeah. Ok." Jesus returned the glance and continued talking.

"Ok. Yeah. I'll tell her. Love you too."

"As soon as I see her. I promise, Gram. Love you."

Both boys ended the calls and slumped back into their chairs. Who knew that a simple phone call could take so much energy?

"And that was the easy step." Brandon stated into the room, intending for his brother, but he didn't want to sit up.

"Uhhhhgggg" Jesus whined.

"It's for the girls." Brandon said out loud.

_It's for the girls._ They thought and both got up to continue to help their struggling family.

* * *

Callie had fallen back to sleep soon after ending the conversation with Stef by turning away from the woman. Stef remained in her seat and did not let her eyes leave the girl in the bed. _I will be here when she wakes up next._ Stef instructed herself as she struggled to keep her eyes open and her ears alert.

After about a half hour of silence, a knock at the door shook Stef out of her thoughts. Dr. Arnold knocked softly on the door and Stef motioned him in. She reluctantly stood up from the chair she had been sitting in for what it seemed like hours and walked towards the doctor.

"How has she been doing?"

"Well… uhh" Stef turned her head towards the sleeping girl. "She woke up like a half hour ago and we talked for only about a minute before she closed off again."

"Well, that is to be expected. Has she mentioned anything about what the shooting or about the most recent incident?"

Stef sighed. She knew he was talking about the attempted suicide and closed her eyes, wishing away all of the bad. "Uhh no she hasn't. But like I said, she only talked to me for like less than a minute, so I don't really know…"

Dr. Arnold smiled sadly and nodded his head. "I understand. This is not only a difficult time for her, but for you as well."

"When do you think she will be able to stay awake for longer periods of time?" Stef wondered.

"Well, it mostly depends on her." He informed as he walked towards Callie. Stef followed him, clinging on to his every word, hoping he would say something positive that she can hang onto. "She has been weaned off of the drugs that have been keeping her sedated, basically meaning that she can wake herself up whenever she wants. But that is the key. It is whenever _she_ wants." Dr. Arnold finished sadly and looked at Stef.

"Uhh…" Stef's voice quivered "Ok." Stef tried to process the eventual process; Callie needed to want to get better. And it scared her that she might not ever want to.

* * *

Lena was jolted out of sleep when she felt Mariana's fingers leave her own and the bed move. She opened her eyes and saw that the spot that Mariana had been in was empty. Quickly, Lena shot up and her heart calmed down slightly when she saw her youngest daughter sitting on the edge of the bed, head down and resting in her hands. "Hey, baby." Lena said softly as she scooted her way to her daughter. Lena's heart rate picked up once more when Mariana turned to look at her. The color was drained from her face and her head seemed to fall heavy on her shoulders, even though she was trying to look up. "Baby?"

"Mama. My head hurts. I feel dizzy."

"Ok, love." Lena jumped up and moved herself in front of her daughter, kneeling in between her legs. "Ok baby. Look at me." Lena tried to capture the eyes of Mariana, but couldn't. _What in the world?_ Lena thought then is clicked. _The food!_ Lena hadn't gotten a chance to give Mariana anything to eat since they got back. "Oh, honey. Ok lie back down and I'm gonna give you something to eat." Lena gently pushed the girl onto her back and smoothed out her hair. "Is there something specific you want?" She asked, kicking herself for being so scatterbrained.

"I'm not hungry." Mariana said, trying to sit up, but Lena pushed her back down.

"You haven't eaten in at least 12 hours," Lena said matter-of-factly. "Don't try that with me. You're gonna pass out if you don't get something in your system."

Mariana groaned slightly and shrugged her shoulders. Lena took that as an anything shrug and walked over to the nightstand to grab the food she had intended for her daughter to eat earlier. She sat down next to Mariana and first handed her the yogurt, hoping that it was the easiest thing for her to eat. "You need to eat this." She instructed.

Mariana felt like her stomach couldn't hold any food, but took the spoon to please her mother.

* * *

Callie had been awake for the past 20 minutes, though she kept her eyes shut. She didn't want to face Stef or have to talk to anyone about what happened. She heard the doctor come in and talk to Stef, then she heard Stef sit back down next to her. It took all of her strength to keep her eyes shut and her breathing even when Stef began stroke her arm and whisper encouragement into the girl's ear to wake up and keep fighting.

Finally, after Stef's hand stopped moving and rested motionless on her arm, Callie assumed Stef had fallen asleep and opened her eyes a tiny bit. She saw Stef's head down on the bed with her hand stretched out to her own. _Why does she care?_ Callie thought to herself. _She knows about everything. Why the hell is she wasting her time with me?_ Callie was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't realize her eyes opened fully and she was moving her head and fingers. She broke was torn away from her thoughts, however, by a soft voice next to her.

"Callie?" It was a voice filled with sorrow, hope, happiness, and angst. Callie didn't know how one voice could possess so many tones. "Callie, love."

Callie knew she was busted. _No point in trying to go back to sleep now._ She thought as she turned her head towards the woman.

"Hi, sweets!" Stef said, carefully looking the girl over to make sure there were no visible signs of injury. "You've been sleeping for quite a while. Are you feeling better?"

Callie shrugged her shoulders. She knew she could not let anyone in too close, even though it seemed like this woman wouldn't take advantage or judge her in any way. Callie knew what happened when you trusted people; they always let you down.

"Hey Cal." Stef started, clasping the girl's hand in her own. "You need to start talking. I would love it to be to me, but if you are more comfortable with a nurse or doctor, I can get someone. But you need to tell us what hurts, and what you are thinking. You can't keep it all bottled up."

Callie looked down at her left hand, which was being gently stroked by Stef's thumb. She stayed silent; not out of disrespect, but because she had no idea what to say. She never really ever had a choice in anything before.

"Callie." The voice appeared to be more stern, though it never lost its loving sound.

"Uhh I dono. I don't really wanna talk now. I kinda wanna be alone." Callie finally said. Hopefully if she sounded convincing enough, Stef would allow her to take some more time to herself.

"Love." Stef sat on the edge of the bed and lifted the girl's chin up with one finger. "Love, I can't leave you alone right now. I'm not doing this to invade on your privacy or to control you, but right now, you need some help. And I will do anything I can to make sure you get it. Whether it is from me, or Lena, or a doctor. But love, I will not leave you alone."

Callie's eyes drifted downwards as Stef continued.

"Can I ask you a question?" Stef asked carefully, her finger still under Callie's chin.

Callie shrugged and Stef took that as a yes.

"Why did you pull out all of your wires?"

Callie knew that question was coming. She had spent most of the 20 minutes she had been faking sleeping to try and come up with an answer for that question. Knowing she would probably be asked once more, Callie spoke up. "They were hurting my arm. I was uncomfortable." Hoping Stef would be happy that Callie spoke, she closed her eyes.

"Nuh-uh" Stef said as she cupped her hands around the young girl's face. Callie knew Stef was staring at her and would probably continue to do so until Callie opened her eyes. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. Just as she thought, Stef's eyes were staring sternly yet lovingly down at the girl. "I'm gonna ask you again. Why did you pull out your wires?"

Callie looked up at the woman. She couldn't put her finger on it, but for some reason, Stef had a way of breaking down her walls. The very walls that Callie had spent years building up. Callie felt tears begin to build up, but she shook her head, refusing to cry in front of Stef. Callie made eye contact once more and Stef hadn't lifted her gaze.

Callie swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and opened her mouth to speak. However, it wasn't words that escaped from her mouth; it was tears.

* * *

"Feel better?" Lena smiled as Mariana finished the last of the yogurt. All she got from the girl was a shrug of the shoulders, but Lena knew that it would help even a little bit. "Would you like some crackers or fruit?" Lena asked. This time Mariana shook her head no and turned away from her mother. Lena sighed in defeat and put the empty yogurt container on her nightstand. She turned towards Mariana and rolled her over onto her back. "Baby. I need you to talk to me. Please tell me what you are thinking. You are safe here. Mom and Callie are safe. We are all safe. But if you don't talk to me or someone about what happened, you won't ever get past this."

Mariana stared at the celling and forced the tears back, refusing to cry yet again. _I will not keep being a baby._ She thought to herself. _Get a grip, Mariana. It happened years ago. Stop being a stupid selfish baby. _

Lena could tell that Mariana was thinking, so she remained quiet and allowed the girl to process. After about 5 minutes of silence, Lena spoke softly. "Sweetie. I've let you have some time to think, now I need you to start talking."

_No. _She thought to herself. _No. I will not allow this to screw up my life again._ Mariana thought back to the days and weeks after her father's death. She never told anyone that she had witnessed the shooting, and the days seemed to all blur together. She felt lost and confused. She stopped talking and refused to do anything without Jesus. She knew she couldn't let that all happen again. _Suck it up. Mom and Callie were shot. They need mama. Stop being a baby._ She scolded herself.

"Mariana." Lena's voice interrupted her thoughts and the young girl sat up. The sudden movement caused her head to spin and one hand flew to her head, while the other flew to the bed, trying to steady herself.

"Woah!" Lena exclaimed and scooted over on the bed to try and help Mariana. However, when she touched her daughter's arm, Mariana ripped it away and stood the rest of the way up. Ignoring the pounding in her head. "I'm fine." She stated and began to walk out of the room.

Lena sat on her bed in complete shock. She had never seen her daughter act like that towards her. It was like a 180 from 10 minutes ago. She shook her thoughts away and pushed herself off of the bed and followed her daughter's exit. She assumed that she would find her in her room, so she checked there first. Lena's brow furrowed when she found the room empty and she made her way downstairs.

As she entered the living room, she saw her daughter packing a bag. It seemed small, and held a couple of things- not anything that would last her more than a couple of hours. "Mari, what are you doing?" Lena carefully walked over to her daughter who was fully concentrated on her bag. When she didn't get an answer, Lena grabbed the girl's arm. Gently as to not hurt her, but firm enough to get her to stop moving. "Mariana."

The young girl looked up at her mother with tears in her eyes. _Damn it! Why can't you just not cry once in your stupid life?_ Mariana yelled at herself as she tried to avoid her mother's gaze. The teen tried to pull her arm away, but her mother was surprisingly strong. "Mariana. Stop it. Sit down." Lena scolded and pointed to the couch. She felt a little guilty for her tone of voice, but her daughter was scaring her.

Reluctantly, Mariana sat down. She kept her head down as her thoughts continued to flow. She was so lost in them that she didn't hear her mother calling her name. It wasn't until she felt her head being lifted up that she realized she was being talked to.

"Tell me what is wrong." Lena said once more once she was certain she had the girl's attention.

"I hate myself." Mariana said plainly and Lena's eyes went wide.

The mother assumed that was all she would get out of the girl. However, it was as if a door opened and words came flooding out. "I wasn't even the one shot and I am being a huge baby. I am being selfish keeping you away from mom and Callie. I can't stop crying for no good reason and I have been taking up everyone's time for something that happened a long time ago. I wasn't even at Ana's house. I didn't even see anything. And it was my fault that this all happened. I was the one insisting that Callie help find Ana. If I hadn't been so stupid and selfish, mom and Callie wouldn't have gotten shot. I…" At this point, Mariana's sobs took over and her body shook. Lena closed her eyes in sorrow and pulled her daughter into her arms. She knew she had a lot to talk about with the girl, but for the time being, she wanted to be close to her; to show her that she was not all of those things she thought.

* * *

Stef was surprised at the reaction that came from the always-composed girl in the hospital bed. The girl seemed to be crying tears that had been held in and pushed down for years. Worried that her monitors would begin to go off again, Stef increased the pressure on her hand, hoping it would allow the girl with some release. However, it seemed like Callie began to cry harder. Stef's heart broke as she watched the young girl cry. She knew Callie rarely let herself cry, especially in front of people she didn't know well. Not being able to watch helplessly anymore, Stef let go of the girl's hand. She climbed onto the bed and sat up with her back against the pillows and headboard. She carefully slid her good arm under the girl and began to pull her up. Realizing that it was going to take a little more strength, she reluctantly used her bad arm to help pull the girl into her lap. Stef hissed at the pain, but it was over quickly and her thoughts turned to the now sobbing girl in her arms.

Stef wrapped her arms around the girl and began rocking her back and forth. She knew that Callie had a lot on her mind, but she also knew that Callie had never really had the loving contact and touch that Stef was providing. It seemed to make the child cry harder, but Stef knew it needed to come out. She was just glad she was there that time to help her though it.

**Please review! Thanks for reading!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Wow. I am so sorry for how long it took for me to write this chapter. It isn't my favorite. I feel like it isn't that great. **

**However, I wanted to show you I wasn't abandoning this story, so I published the best draft for this chapter. **

**I am having a hard time thinking of where to take this story. I'm not sure if I should end it soon, or take it further and continue through for many more chapters. **

**I would really appreciate reviews and/or pms so I can get this figured out. **

**Thank you for all of the kind words! You have no idea how much they mean to me! Happy reading!**

* * *

Brandon looked down at his buzzing phone. _Shit!_ He thought to himself and looked over to his brother who was still typing away on the computer. "Uhh it's Talia. I gotta take this." He informed Jesus and stood up. He walked out of the waiting room doors to make sure that his brother or mother, if she happened to come out of the room, would hear. Reluctantly, he answered the call. "Uhh hey, Vico."

"Alright, Foster. Are you ready?" The voice on the other side of the phone was thick and had a hint of mockery to it.

"Uhh is there any way it can wait? I'm at the hospital with Callie, my foster sister. And I don't have a car to use…"

Before Brandon could continue, Vico cut him off. "Did you already forget the second rule?" He didn't wait for an answer. "No wussing out. Come on I thought you wanted to be cool and noticed and not a loser for once in your life."

Brandon shut his eyes. He wanted all of those things so much it hurt, but part of him thought about his family. He was torn.

"Foster, if you don't come meet me right now, you'll never get a chance like this again. And I will personally make sure that you remain a loser for the rest of your high school life." Vico snarled.

Brandon looked over his shoulder at the doors to the waiting room and sighed. "Where?"

* * *

"Can you please follow me upstairs?" Lena asked her daughter, standing up. Mariana kept her head down and shook her head. _I will not continue to make this about me. They could still decide that I am too much to handle and send me back. I can't be the reason Jesus gets screwed over. Suck it up._

"I'm fine. Can we go see Callie and mom now?" She asked, her head remained lowered, but she stood up.

Lena couldn't understand what was going through her daughter's head. "Mariana. You need to stop right now and look at me."

Mariana continued walking towards the bag she had begun to pack, intentionally walking out of the reach of her mother. "Mama I told you I'm fine. Can you drop it?" Mariana replied as she collected a few more things to put into her bag. She hated the tone she used with her mother, but she knew she had been enough of a burden. She knew she had to put the focus back onto her mom and foster sister. Plus, avoiding the talking part sounded really good.

Lena looked dumbfounded at her child. She was at a loss for words. She shook her head as she realized she had to say or do something. She walked over to her daughter, who was putting her coat on and rested a hand on her shoulder. This time, Mariana didn't shrug it off, but she stood in place- not moving at all.

Finally, Lena spoke. "Mari. I understand you are afraid and mad and confused, but you need to use your words or write it down or something. You can't keep your feelings bottled up. Please."

Willing her tears away, Mariana turned to look at her mom. "I promise I will talk later. Can we please just go see mom and Callie?" She was surprised at how well she could muster up a 'normal' sounding voice and looked at her mother.

Lena stared at the girl and debated whether or not it was a good idea. Finally, after realizing that if she said no, Mariana would not speak at all, she agreed. At least she was getting her daughter out of the house. "Alright. But we will talk later. You, me and mom."

Mariana nodded her head and turned to walk out the door.

As Lena watched her youngest walk down the steps, she sighed. She knew it was very possible to unearth some very dark events with foster children, but she didn't think after so many years that anything this big would come up. Grabbing her keys, coat and purse, she walked out the door.

* * *

It had only taken 10 minutes for Callie to drift back to sleep. Although the doctor's words floated in Stef's head, she knew that the girl was probably exhausted from the lack of good sleep, the events, the meltdown, and being in the hospital. Stef smiled as she looked down. Callie had fallen asleep on her. Stef knew that was a huge leap the girl had to take and she wanted to make sure that she was safe after taking such a leap. Callie's head rested carefully on Stef's chest and Stef's arms remained closed around her body. She played with the girl's long brown hair with her good hand and hummed softly.

* * *

Lena pulled into one of the hospital parking spaces and turned off the car. She looked at her daughter who seemed to be lost in thought. "Mari" Lena began softly. Mariana looked over at her mother, but didn't say anything. "Are you ready to go in?" Mariana simply nodded and reached over to open her door. Lena sighed as she opened her door as well and locked the car behind her.

Mariana had already begun to walk so Lena took a few quick steps to catch up to her. The girl kept her head down and Lena looked at her with sadness. _She hasn't been this closed off since she was 8. _Lena thought to herself as they walked through the doors. They both knew which turns would get them to the correct waiting room, which made Lena uneasy. She didn't like the fact that her family knew the hospital's layout due to spending so much time there.

Walking through the doors to the waiting area, Lena spotted Jesus and she nudged her daughter. Mariana looked up, saw her brother and ran over to him. He put down the computer and hugged her. She seemed to relax, so Lena took the time to ask the nurse who was positioned at the desk how things were going with Callie.

"Oh. I thought her mother already was here…"

"Stef and I are partners," Lena explained quickly.

The woman smiled and nodded. However, as she read over the files and information on the screen, her smile faded, which did not go unnoticed by Lena.

"What's wrong?" Lena's heart rate began to pick up as she waited for an answer.

As the nurse began to explain the situation with Callie to Lena, Mariana and Jesus sat next to each other in silence. Finally, as he couldn't take being still for long periods of time, Jesus turned towards his sister. "Hey Mari. How are you doing?"

Mariana looked up at him and shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm sorry I told mama." Jesus confessed quietly. Mariana didn't lift her head up in order to try and hide the tears that had formed. She knew her brother did it for her own good, and on some level, she was actually glad he told someone, so she didn't have to be the one to break the news. She knew she had an amazing twin. However, after some thinking, she remembered her thoughts from when she was in the house. _Stop being so selfish. Suck it up. Stop crying, you big baby._ As Mariana scolded herself, she quickly wiped her tears and stood up. She began to pace the waiting room, anxious to be doing something. However, still having only eaten a yogurt, she became dizzy and sat back down.

The two were silent once more except the sounds of Jesus' foot tapping against the floor.

One of Lena's hands fell over her heart, while the other one covered her mouth. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. _I should've been here._ She thought to herself. Her mind was whizzing so fast that she thought she was going to pass out. As the nurse continued talking, Lena put her hand up, asking the nurse to stop for a moment.

"I'm sorry. I was just trying to give you all of the information."

"No, it's alright. Really thank you for being thorough. But I was wondering if I could see Callie and my wife." Lena said.

"Oh, of course. I just wanted you to know as much as possible before going in." The nurse responded before turning towards the direction of the girl's room.

"Could you hold on for just a moment?" Lena asked. Following the nurse's nod, Lena walked quickly back to her children. "Loves." She began. "I'm going to Callie's room." For a moment, Mariana's eyes grew wide, but within a second, it is as if she completely shut off her emotions and her head trailed back towards the floor. "Jesus? Will you keep an eye out for her?" Lena asked as she put a hand on his shoulder.

"Of course." He responded.

Before Lena turned to leave, she noticed something; rather she noticed something missing. "Where's Brandon?" When she first arrived, she just assumed he was in the bathroom or cafeteria.

Jesus looked up and scanned the room. "Uhhh I dono" He stated simply. "Talia called him a while ago, but I haven't seen him come back. Maybe he went to get something to eat." Jesus continued.

After looking up at his mother's worried and exhausted eyes, he decided to take a step further. "I'll call him, mom. I'm sure he is just wandering the halls. I'll let you know when I get ahold of him" He smiled at his mom and went back to looking at his computer.

Lena smiled as she looked down at her son. _He has really grown up._ She thought as she placed a kiss on his head. "Thank you, love." She then looked up and said "I'm be right back, baby" over towards her daughter, who didn't respond.

Trying to focus on the most important task at hand, Lena turned away from her children and followed the nurse to Callie's room.

"Go on in." The nurse encouraged. "Looks like they might both be sleeping."

"Thank you."

The nurse nodded in response and held the door open for Lena. The mother stepped in and knew she was about to unearth more past from another one of her daughters. She hoped she could handle it.

* * *

"Seriously, Vico?" Brandon tiredly said into his phone.

"Walk here or I won't help you. Your choice."

Brandon let out a breath and began to walk away from the hospital. Suddenly, he stopped and looked down at his phone. He quickly sent a text to Lena, Stef and Jesus that he was going to Talia's for a little bit and would be back shortly. He smiled slightly in satisfaction and continued walking.

* * *

As soon as Jesus took his phone out of his pocket to call his brother, he received a text from him. After reading it to himself, he turned to his sister and relayed the information. Mariana looked up, nodded her head, then resumed her previous position. Jesus knew something was off, but didn't know exactly how to handle it at the moment.

Remembering his promise to his mother to inform her of Brandon's whereabouts, he sent a text to Lena explaining where Brandon was. She replied with a thank you and Jesus shoved his phone back into his pocket.

Looking back at his computer screen, he began to scroll through some pictures that he had saved on his desktop. He came upon one of his birth father and him fishing together and smiling. Jesus smiled as he thought back to that moment. When nothing was complicated and he had his parents right there with him. A tear slowly fell from his eye and as soon as he felt it, he forcefully wiped it away and looked around to make sure no one had seen it. He shut his laptop in frustration and sunk back into the chair.

Moments later, he felt his phone buzz and he fished it out to look at the message. He smiled as he saw who was texting him; it was Lexi. Mariana still didn't know they were dating, and he had planned on keeping it that way until he was sure that she wouldn't throw a fit about it. He happily responded and was happy to have a normal conversation with someone besides his family.

* * *

Lena's heart swelled when she saw Callie's bed was not only occupied by her, but also by her wife. She quietly walked over to the chair and sat down, not taking her eyes off of the girls.

As if she sensed a presence, Stef slowly opened her eyes and turned her head. At the sight of Lena, she smiled.

Lena smiled back and her gaze moved towards Callie, who was still sleeping on Stef.

"Do you want to get up?" Lena whispered.

"I'm ok here." Stef replied as she ran her fingers through the girl's hair once more. She turned to her wife and asked the question that had been on her mind since she left home. "How's my baby?"

Lena sighed and chuckled as she thought back to the craziness of the last couple of hours. "I honestly don't know. She was a mess one minute and then was determined to convince me that nothing was wrong and that she was fine to come here. She promised we could all talk later, but her change in emotions has truthfully stumped me. I'm not sure what to do."

Stef listened carefully and when Lena finished, she smiled at her. "Babe, she is going through PTSD and since it has been so long since the event, her mind is probably making the images in her head worse than before. Which is normal because she was too young to remember all of them fully. She's never delt with this before, so everything is coming out at once. She is scared, confused, embarrassed, nervous, mad, and exhausted. You have been doing such a great job with her. Keeping her calm and soothing her fears. I know it feels like nothing is helping, but the fact that she trusts us enough to fall apart over and over means that we are slowly getting through and slowly helping." Stef saw the tears forming in her wife's eyes as she finished. Carefully, as to not wake Callie, Stef slid out from under the girl, resting her head gently on the pillow and pulling the blanket up further, she tucked the girl in. Once she was off of the bed completely, she engulfed her wife in a hug. "It's ok for you to cry too, love." She whispered.

Lena simply relaxed into her wife's arms. She had been so worried about her family since the shooting, that she hadn't had much time for herself. She was physically exhausted from lack of sleep, but she was also emotionally exhausted from the tears, bad news after bad news, and from the sight of her family falling apart in front of her eyes. Stef sat down in the chair and pulled her wife into her arms. Lena's head found the crook of Stef's neck and she let out a sigh.

Lena fell asleep to the sound of her wife's whispers, and the touch of her wife's fingers on her back. She finally felt like she didn't have to be the strong one; like for the first time since the incident, she was the one being taken care of.

**Again, so sorry for the delay. Hope you enjoyed. Please review!**


End file.
